


Sweet Sugar

by Cassie_Bones



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adversaries, Bakeoff, Bakery AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, because their sisters are getting married, but surprise, duh - Freeform, is there sexual tension???, lena and kara own competing bakeries, these gays, they have to work together, wedding au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassie_Bones/pseuds/Cassie_Bones
Summary: Lena was Sam’s best friend in the entire world and the person who had taken her in after her mother kicked her out for getting ‘knocked up’ at age seventeen. She, like Alex’s sister, owned a bakery downtown...directly across from Kara’s. In a funny way, the two bakers’ rivalry from across the way was what had brought Sam and Alex together in the first place.But that wasn’t the point.“Kara’s cakes are way more festive than Lena’s, no offense to your friend. Also, she’s willing to do it for free.”“Lena’s cakes are festive!” Sam huffed. “And she’s doing it for free, too. Besides, her style is a lot more...appropriate for a wedding, don’t you think?”orThe one where Kara and Lena own competing bakeries and are forced to work together for their sisters' wedding.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 102
Kudos: 583





	1. Enemies

**Sweet Sugar**

Alex’s dress was perfect. As was Sam’s suit.

Their flowers were all picked out (a mixture of hydrangeas, peonies, and violets), their seating chart was figured out and immaculate, and their wedding venue was booked and ready for their big day. 

Even their caterers were chosen within a week after their engagement. They were so ready to get down the altar and start their lives together. Ruby, Sam’s teenage daughter, was going to act as their wedding officiant (it seemed fitting considering the three of them were about to be a family) and was also planning to walk her mother down the aisle.

The only thing they were actually missing was, well, a cake. Which is where their problems began.

“Kara can handle it,” Alex said, one night after Sam had cautiously broached the subject for only the third time in the two months since they’d gotten engaged. It was always a fight when she did. Mainly because…

“Or Lena can do it.” 

Lena was Sam’s best friend in the entire world and the person who had taken her in after her mother kicked her out for getting ‘knocked up’ at age seventeen. She, like Alex’s sister, owned a bakery downtown...directly across from Kara’s. In a funny way, the two bakers’ rivalry from across the way was what had brought Sam and Alex together in the first place.

But that wasn’t the point.

“Kara’s cakes are way more festive than Lena’s, no offense to your friend. Also, she’s willing to do it for free.”

“Lena’s cakes are festive!” Sam huffed. “And she’s doing it for free, too. Besides, her style is a lot more...appropriate for a wedding, don’t you think.”

“You pronounced boring wrong,” Alex retorted, with a smirk. “Kara’s cakes are colorful. Her rainbow cake has literally won awards, and didn’t we want this wedding to be as gay as possible?”

“Well, Lena  _ is  _ gay, so…”

“But she’s so...Type A gay. Everything has to be perfect and prim and I just...I want our wedding to be colorful and fun and full of flavor! Besides, I kind of already told Kara that she could bake the cake. She’s been designing it for weeks!”

“Shit,” Sam grumbled. “I basically told Lena the same thing. She wants us to come in this weekend for a taste test.” 

“Just call her and tell her we changed our minds.”

“I can’t just do that! She’s like my sister!”

“Well, Kara actually  _ is  _ my sister,” Alex pointed out. “And I can’t break her heart like that. She’ll never let me live it down.”

“Yeah, well I can’t exactly do that to Lena, either, now can I?”

“So, what do we do?”

Sam sighed. “The only thing we can do.”

* * *

“You want us to  _ compete _ ?” Kara asked with a frown, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against her sister’s kitchen sink, as far away from Lena Luthor,  _ baker extraordinaire _ , as possible. The woman herself sat at the island, her legs crossed and her hands folded primly on the granite countertop. Her hair was immaculate, as always. 

It infuriated Kara for reasons she couldn’t quite name. 

“Not  _ compete _ , exactly,” Alex hedged, holding her fiancee’s hand. Sam squeezed her fingers in a comforting way. “Just...well, I mean, if you prefer, you could work together?”

“Absolutely not.”

“No way!”

The two bakers spoke simultaneously and shared a withering glare with one another, before turning away. Alex and Sam shared a look of their own and sighed. So much for that idea.

“Thought not,” Sam muttered. “Okay, so then it’s a competition. Nothing huge or extravagant for it, obviously, since we really don’t have time for that. Just a simple, two-layer sample of what you would make for our wedding. You both know the color scheme for our wedding and you should know all our allergies, but Ruby has taken the liberty of typing all that info out, including what each of us wants for our cake.” 

With a grin, Sam pulled out a couple of envelopes from her back pocket. 

“My little nerd apparently made Venn diagrams and graphs so you both know what flavors we both like.” Alex chuckled and wrapped her arms around Sam’s waist, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder.

“ _ Our _ little nerd,” she corrected. Sam smiled and pressed a kiss to Alex’s lips, before moving away to hand each baker an envelope. 

“We’re planning on a blind taste test,” Alex informed them, “so don’t worry so much about presentation as flavor. “And  _ no  _ cheating with flavors that you know we love as individuals. We have to  _ both  _ like what you make.”

“Meaning, unfortunately, no carrot cake,” Sam added, looking at Lena with a pout. “Even though I love your carrot cake, Lena.”

Alex made a face at Kara, before turning an apologetic look to Lena. “Sorry,” she said, trying to sound sincere. “No triple fudge, either, Kara, as much as it pains me to say that - and you know it does.”

Kara pouted. “Darn,” she huffed. Lena rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to find something that you’ll both absolutely adore,” said Lena, tucking the envelope into her purse. “When is this taste test?”

“Is a week from today too soon?” Sam asked.

“Not at all,” Kara said. “Hell, I could have a cake for you by tomorrow!”

“Business not going well, then?” Lena asked, looking down at her nails. Kara glared at her and Alex could practically see the steam streaming from her ears.

“A week will be fine,  _ Kara _ ,” she said, with a tone that begged her sister to stay calm. Kara turned back to her and nodded, holding up the envelope with a small smile, before placing it in the back pocket of her jeans. 

“One week,” she echoed. “You’re going to  _ love _ it.”

* * *

“Ugh,” Kara grumbled. “They’re going to  _ hate  _ it!”

“Dramatic much?” Nia snorted, licking pink frosting from the back of her thumb as she placed her piping bag back on the counter. She’d just finished decorating six dozen trans flag cookies for a local Pride festival. She picked up one of the rejects and bit into it, moaning in delight. “You’re one of the best bakers in the city.”

“Yeah, well, unfortunately for me, they picked one of the  _ other  _ best bakers in the city as my competition,” Kara huffed. “Princess Perfect of the Luthor Legion of Doom.”

“That is an epic title,” Nia said, earning herself a glare from her boss. She held up her hands. “Just saying. You’re the one who gave it to her, anyway.”

“Because that’s how she acts! She thinks she’s better than anybody else because her brother bought her a bakery!”

“Didn’t her mother also disown her after she decided to drop out of business school and attend that culinary arts academy?” Nia pointed out. “I mean, that was pretty messed up, don’t you think? Eliza never would have done anything like that to you.”

“Eliza also didn’t buy me a bakery or pay for my education,” Kara retorted. “I did it all on my own. I mean, not that I don’t appreciate everything that Eliza  _ did  _ do for me, of course!”

“She’s not here, Kara, but I’m sure she knows,” Nia said, with a kind smile as she began to stack the boxes of cookies. “Wanna help me get these out to the delivery truck?”

Kara nodded, plucking half the boxes from the counter and following Nia out to the alley. From where their truck was parked, they could clearly see into ‘The Renaissance Bakery’, where Lena Luthor worked, tirelessly, in front of a sheet-glass window. Her hair was tied into an immaculate bun on top of her head and she had on a starched white apron. How she kept it so clean, Kara would never know. She glanced down at her own, multi-colored apron and the stains it had accumulated over a career of baking rainbows into her cakes, cupcakes, and other pastries. She frowned and swiped at some flour on her pocket, sighing.

“She’s a robot, I swear,” Kara grumbled as she placed the boxes on one of the shelves in the back of the truck. The truck was stocked with her other Pride specialties. Big rainbow sheet cakes, bisexual cupcakes, nonbinary cheesecakes, asexual puddings, and so much more. They were the number one choice for most pride events, which made June a pretty busy month.

Unfortunately, Lena Luthor’s cakes were the number one choice for most same-sex weddings, considering she was what CatCo media had called a “Refined Lesbian Baker with impeccable style and grace.” 

Sam and Alex’s wedding would be Kara’s chance to prove herself - and her business - as worthy of catering many more same-sex marriages in the future.

If only she could figure out which flavors to use!

“Calling somebody a robot isn’t very nice, Kara,” Nia pointed out, wagging her finger at the other woman. “Also ironic, considering we know plenty of perfectly nice cyborgs and robots. And we’re, you know,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “aliens.”

“It’s not a dirty word, Nia,” Kara whispered back. 

“To you, of course,” Nia said. “But to Karen Smith who owns the laundromat next door, we might as well all be infected with the plague.”

“Ignore her,” Kara said, with a shrug. “She hates everybody for, like, every reason imaginable, anyway.”

“True,” Nia snorted. “Alright, let me get these desserts off to the Pride fest. Might stick around for a bit, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” Kara said. “I’ll lock up. Just make sure you bring the truck back before going home.” 

Her employee gave her a thumbs up before she climbed into the driver’s seat and took off, leaving Kara alone in the alley, glaring at Lena Luthor, who was crouched in front of one of her huge, expensive-looking ovens, probably watching a souffle rise or something. Before she could look away, however, she found herself staring into the impossibly seafoam green eyes of her rival, transfixed by the expression on the brunette’s face.

Kara felt her face begin to burn and had the thought to look away, but not the willpower. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw Lena’s tongue swipe out against her bottom lip and something seemed to rumble deep in her abdomen.

She was probably just hungry.

Lena was the one who broke up their little staring contest as something in her shop seemed to get her attention and she stood, running to some point out of sight. Broken from her trance, Kara shook her head and turned away before Lena could return, entering her own shop through the back door and pressing her forehead against the large, stainless steel refrigerator adjacent to it, cooling herself down as she willed her heart to stop its incessant pounding.

_ Why does that keep on happening _ ? She wondered to herself as she took in deep, even breaths.

She was broken from her thoughts by the sound of the bell above her own front door ringing in the distance. Righting herself, Kara tried to brush more flour off of herself and painted a welcoming smile on her lips as she pulled out her notepad from her apron pocket, readying herself to take another order (and ignoring the crossed out flavor combinations that she’d been trying out for Sam and Alex’s wedding, because  _ none of them were even remotely right _ ).

But when she got to the front of her shop, where her cash register waited next to display cases full of cake samples and freshly baked cookies and cupcakes ready for sales, she paused with a greeting stuck at the tip of her tongue when she saw who was there to greet her, a glare already fixed below a pair of knitted black brows. 

“Hello, Miss Danvers,” Lena Luthor greeted. 


	2. Adversaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena rolled her eyes and pulled something out of her back pocket. “Do you have a copier, by any chance?” At Kara’s furrowed brow, Lena stepped forward and dropped something black and crumbly on her counter. It took Kara a moment to realize what it was.
> 
> “Is that…”
> 
> “Yes, it is,” Lena said, looking away. Kara could swear she saw the slightest tinge of pink on Lena’s cheeks. But that was impossible. Lena Luthor definitely couldn’t feel embarrassment. 

“Hello, Lena,” Kara replied. “What can I get for you?” 

She said this even as she tucked her pen and notebook back into her apron pocket, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning against the back counter. 

Lena rolled her eyes and pulled something out of her back pocket. “Do you have a copier, by any chance?” At Kara’s furrowed brow, Lena stepped forward and dropped something black and crumbly on her counter. It took Kara a moment to realize what it was.

“Is that…”

“Yes, it is,” Lena said, looking away. Kara could swear she saw the slightest tinge of pink on Lena’s cheeks. But that was impossible. Lena Luthor definitely couldn’t feel embarrassment. 

“How on earth did you accomplish that?” she asked, plucking it up and wincing as the singed envelope crumbled in her grasp, charred black paper fluttering away to the floor.

“I left it too close to one of my stoves,” Lena admitted. “It caught on fire while I set a pot of jam to boil.”

“You make your own jam?”

“Of course I do,” Lena huffed. “Don’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” Kara said. “But I usually don’t leave the flames big enough to burn anything.”

“My stove is electric,” Lena informed her. “But sometimes it...sparks.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been meaning to get it fixed, but business has been hectic. So many weddings.”

“Okay, don’t brag,” Kara huffed. 

“I’m not bragging,” Lena retorted. “If anything, that was a complaint. Especially with Sam’s wedding coming up at the end of the month.”

“Maybe you should just let me do the cake then,” Kara suggested, slyly. “Take some of the pressure off of yourself.”

“Not a chance,” Lena practically growled. “I’d refund half my orders before I’d let Sam down like that.”

“It really wouldn’t be letting her down,” Kara said. “If anything, you’d be helping her out by letting her off the hook for hiring you.” She sighed. “But if you want to lose the gig the hard way…”

“I’m not going to lose.”

Kara held up the half burned envelope. “You sure about that?”

“So you’re not going to help me then?” Lena said. “I thought you might be more honorable than that, Miss Danvers.”

“Dude, quit it with the ‘Miss Danvers’ stuff. It’s weirdly formal. Our sisters are getting married.”

“Sam isn’t my sister.”

“She might as well be, right?” Kara said. 

Lena couldn’t argue with that.

“And of course I’m going to help you,” Kara continued, disappearing into her kitchen. Her version of Ruby’s notes were sitting on her desk in the far corner of the kitchen, where she sketched out designs for new desserts to sample before putting them on the ‘Daily Specials’ board out front for a test run. Only the best ended up on the regular menu.

Sometimes, however, even her best ideas weren’t  _ the  _ best. But she wasn’t about to start playing it safe like Lena Luthor, who preferred classic desserts. Even if Lena did get a lot of good business.

Kara reached for the sheets of paper with all of Ruby’s notes intermingled with her own and bit her bottom lip. She’d basically memorised everything on the Venn diagram and allergies list already, so it probably would have been okay if she handed over the whole thing to Lena...but then again, Lena might try to copy her notes and use them to her own advantage. It would be a shame if they showed up to the blind taste test with exactly the same flavors, only for Lena’s to be just that tiny bit better and win…

Kara reached inside her apron pocket and pulled out her notebook again, quickly copying down diagrams, graphs, and the list of allergies, making sure that everything was legible enough for somebody who was unfamiliar with her usual chicken scratch to read. When she was satisfied, she tore the sheets from the notebook and turned, intending to bring them back out to Lena Luthor…

Only to find the woman in question less than two feet from her face.

“Holy fork!” Kara exclaimed, her hand tightening around the notes in her hand. The corner of Lena Luthor’s lips curled up in an amused grin that Kara had never thought possible for the other woman. 

“Do you _ever_ curse?” Lena asked. “Or do you just spout lines from _Batman_ _and Robin_?”

“Do you want my help or don’t you?” Kara huffed, holding up the now-crumpled notes. 

“I apologize if I’ve insulted you,” Lena said, though she didn’t look a  _ bit  _ apologetic. The amusement was still dancing in those incredibly clear green eyes. Kara could now see that there was a rim of gold there, as well, when the light touched them just right. “I’m just not used to...substituting curses. My parents, as proper as they were, always said exactly what they were thinking. My birth mother, as well.”

“You remember her?” Kara asked, furrowing her brow. “I thought you were a baby when…”

“When the Luthors took me in?” Lena finished for her. “I was four, actually. And I wasn’t exactly adopted.” She took a deep breath. “Lionel Luthor was my biological father. He and my mother had an affair. He had many affairs, actually, but my mother - my  _ adoptive _ mother, that is - always took him back.” She cleared her throat. “Still, it’s not public information, so please don’t…”

“I won’t,” Kara assured her. “I was actually adopted, too.” She cleared her throat. “When I was, um, thirteen.”

“That must have been difficult.”

Kara shrugged. “Wasn’t much I could do about it, you know? It was just as difficult for Alex, anyway. I mean, going from being an only child to having a twerpy, awkward little sister who follows you around like a puppy overnight?” 

This time, Lena Luthor made a sound like a laugh. Kara’s chest felt weird, like a burp that refused to come up. Or something worse that she refused to acknowledge. 

“Um, anyway,” she said, clearing her throat, “here.” She held out the notes to Lena at arms length. “I copied them down for you because mine have my own notes on them.”

“How am I supposed to know that these are accurate?” Lena asked, dubiously as she took the notes from Kara’s hand, their knuckles brushing together. “What if you’re actually sabotaging me?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Kara huffed in annoyance. “I have integrity.” Lena raised an eyebrow and Kara rolled her eyes, reaching for the original notes. She did her best to cover most of her scribbles as she showed Lena what Ruby had written. 

To her dismay, Lena stepped closer and Kara caught a whiff of vanilla and lavender. She had no idea if it was perfume or remnants of whatever the other woman had baked earlier that day, but it was somewhat...intoxicating. 

Kara tried to hold her breath.

Lena seemed to take her time comparing the two sets of notes.

When Kara was close to passing out, she finally stepped back, satisfied. “Okay,” she said. “Well, thank you for your help, Miss-- _ Kara _ .” The way her name slipped off Lena’s tongue made Kara’s chest burn. Maybe she just needed an alka-seltzer? “May the best baker win.”

“Oh, I will,” Kara said, happy to be getting back to familiar, competitive territory. Something flashed in Lena’s eyes as she reached out with her slender, long, perfectly trimmed fingers and shook Kara’s hand.

“In your dreams,” Lena Luthor said, her voice just a tiny bit throatier than usual. Kara’s throat was too dry for her to respond. “Goodbye, Kara.”

When the touch of Lena’s skin was gone, Kara felt a longing tingle in her fingertips. She flexed her hand as she watched Lena turn and retreat, forcing her own feet to stay rooted to the spot instead of following like they so desperately wanted to, for some reason. She wouldn’t allow her legs to move until she heard the store bell ring and then she allowed herself to relax against the edge of her desk, taking a long, slow breath.

The smell of lavender and vanilla lingered in the air and Kara allowed herself a moment to bask in it before she shook her head free of all thoughts of Lena Luthor and got back to work on her plans for her sister’s wedding cake.

Suddenly, she was filled with inspiration, even as she tried to shake off the ripples of electricity that still radiated from her right hand.


	3. Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn’t the first time she’d ever asked anybody for help--even if it was the first time asking that particular person for assistance--and it certainly wasn’t the first time she’d ever spoken to Kara Danvers. They’d spoken plenty of times before--especially since Alex and Sam had started dating and tried to get them to drop their, admittedly ridiculous, feud, but there was something different about their interaction today. Something decidedly more...intimate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter chapter this time. sorry!

Lena’s heart was still pounding two hours after leaving Kara Danvers’s bakery, even as she fielded several wedding cake offers from adorably excited and nervous queer couples with Etsy-made cake toppers, and she had no idea why. 

It wasn’t the first time she’d ever asked anybody for help--even if it was the first time asking that particular person for assistance--and it certainly wasn’t the first time she’d ever spoken to Kara Danvers. They’d spoken plenty of times before--especially since Alex and Sam had started dating and tried to get them to drop their, admittedly ridiculous, feud, but there was something  _ different _ about their interaction today. Something decidedly more...intimate.

Perhaps it was the fact that Lena had, for the first time, stepped into Kara’s bakery. Though they’d had this long-standing rivalry between their two businesses, neither of them had ever invaded the other’s space like that. Lena was too sophisticated for any kind of sabotage or vandalism, and it seemed that Kara was the same. They’d always stuck to their own sides of the road, choosing instead to carry out their feud online, trading cleverly-worded insults over Twitter, which got them each a following of a couple thousand. 

It was good for business, their feud, but somewhere along the line Lena started to get bored of constantly keeping up with the drama that encapsulated the queer baking community. The fact that there even  _ was  _ a queer baking community and that they were somewhat invested in this rivalry was enough to make her head spin. 

“Miss Luthor?”

Lena jumped, her pencil flying from between her fingers and landing somewhere her eyes couldn’t quite follow as she looked up from where she was sitting at the kitchen counter to see one of her cupcake decorators, Adrian, standing across from her with a look of concern on his face.

“Yes?” she asked, trying to right herself. At some point she had stooped so much over her sketchbook that her face was nearly parallel with the cutting board countertops. She cleared her throat. “What is it, Adrian?”

“Are you okay?” the teenager asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious pup.

“Of course I am,” Lena replied, straightening her back and ignoring the pops in her spine as she did. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you were just staring at your sketchbook for the last half hour and haven’t made a single mark.” Lena looked down to see that he was, indeed, correct. All she had on the page was a simple stencil of a single-tier cake and the words “Sam and Alex Wedding” written across the top, but there was nothing else. No flavor profiles or notes or anything, despite the fact that Kara’s copied notes were sprawled out around her.

She had been truly spaced out for the better part of an hour now. That wasn’t like her.

“I’ve just been...thinking,” Lena replied. “This cake has to be perfect, you know? I can’t just make a red velvet and call it a day. It has to be...interesting.”

“What about rainbow velvet?” Adrian suggested.

“Do you know how many times I’ve made rainbow velvet cake this year?” Lena huffed, slipping off the stool and going in search of her pencil. “It’s become boring.”

“Rainbow velvet is  _ never _ boring,” Adrian insisted. “But okay. How about…” he picked up Kara’s notes, “...dutch chocolate with cherry cream in the center.”

“What, like a black forest cake?” Lena asked, ducking to look beneath a cabinet. “I haven’t done one of those in a while. I doubt Sam would realize it was mine in a blind taste test.”

“Which is why it’s perfect,” Adrian said. “I mean, that’s the point, isn’t it. Besides, it’s always a good idea to brush up on recipes you haven’t done in a while, right? Why haven’t you made it in so long?”

Lena shrugged. “Nobody really orders it. Also, it was...it was my mother’s favorite.”

“Oh, sorry,” Adrian said. “Um, which mother?”

“My birth mother,” Lena informed him. “My  _ real _ mother.”

“But you’ve made it before?” he asked. “Black forest?”

“I used to make it once a year,” Lena admitted. “On my mother’s birthday, I would make it for myself and my father. Mother refused to eat it. Lex always had a piece, even though he would pick out the cherries.” She chuckled. “He hates cherries.”

“Well, why did you stop?”

“I got too busy. My father was gone, anyway, so it made no sense to make a full cake just for myself in honor of a mother I barely got to know. But on the off-chance that anybody ever orders it, I always think of them.” She smiled in triumph as she found the pencil wedged between the dishwasher and far wall. Standing back up, she took a deep breath and stuck the pencil behind her ear. “But now is as good a time as any to finally share it with Sam and Ruby.”

“And Alex and Kara,” Adrian pointed out. “I’m sure sure you’ll get some satisfaction out of Kara Danvers being forced to eat your cake at her sister’s wedding.”

Lena felt her body heat up at that and cleared her throat.

“I would never  _ force  _ her to eat it,” she said. “But if she felt so inclined, I suppose I wouldn’t stop her.”

When she turned back to him, Adrian was staring. “What?” Lena asked, furrowing her brow.

“Are we still talking about  _ cake _ ?” Adrian asked, his cheeks blooming red.

Lena frowned at him. “Of course,” she said. “What else would we possibly be talking about?”

Adrian didn’t have to respond for Lena to know  _ exactly  _ what the teenage boy was thinking.


	4. Challengers Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nia stepped in front of her boss and Kara took that as an invitation to lay her chin on the slightly taller woman’s shoulder as she waited for her to make her choice between three classically-iced mini wedding cakes. All three had a white whipped frosting base with different colored fondant flowers flowing down them like little rainbow waterfalls.

When the day finally arrived for them to present their cakes for the blind taste test that would decide all, Kara found herself looking at three different cakes, all with the same flavor palette, but each decorated differently. 

They were the same three cakes she had been staring at for the better part of an hour now.

“Kara,” Nia said, coming up behind her. The blonde was so focused that she didn’t even jump at the sound of her friend and co-worker’s voice. Hell, she didn’t even acknowledge Nia until the younger woman was practically rubbing noses with her in an attempt to get her attention. “Kara?”

“Huh?” Kara blinked. “I’m sorry, Nia, did you say something?”

“Only that we’re going to be late if you don’t pick a cake for your _completely blind taste test_.” Nia’s words were as pointed as her eyebrows. “Or did you forget?”

Kara’s cheeks burned even as she glanced away.

“Of course I didn’t forget,” she said. “I just...want my work to be _presentable_. Lena’s always is.”

“You’re not Lena,” Nia pointed out.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t have pretty cakes.”

“True, but in this case, it really isn’t necessary. Besides, don’t you think it’ll look better if we actually showed up on time, rather than how your cake looks to two people who will be, and I cannot stress this enough, _blindfolded_?”

“Okay, I get it,” Kara huffed. “Why don’t you pick one then?”

Nia stepped in front of her boss and Kara took that as an invitation to lay her chin on the slightly taller woman’s shoulder as she waited for her to make her choice between three classically-iced mini wedding cakes. All three had a white whipped frosting base with different colored fondant flowers flowing down them like little rainbow waterfalls.

Well, okay, only _one_ of them had a rainbow of flowers on the upper layer, arranged in a bouquet. A second cake had a single rainbow painted fondant rose and a lily with blue, pink, and purple petals blooming next to it. Kara had spent hours on those flowers--but she enjoyed every second of it.

The third cake had a verifiable waterfall of tiny candy flowers that spilled from the top layer to the base of the cake, where they spread out in pride order. 

“Did you make all of the flowers yourself?” Nia asked.

“Don’t I always?” Kara retorted, grinning on her shoulder. “Now hurry up and pick or we’re going to be late.”

“The rose and lily,” Nia decided. “As much as I love all the rainbows, I think that one is most personally connected to Alex and Sam’s relationship. Also, I desperately want to take the waterfall cake home with me and I think you should put the bouquet cake in the display case tomorrow. Might drive in some pride weddings.”

“You think?”

“For sure,” Nia said. “Now, let’s go before Lena wins by default.”

Kara scoffed. “As if Miss Perfect would _ever_ accept that.”

* * *

“Where is she?” Sam sighed, looking down at her watch. “Lena is never late.”

“Maybe she decided to drop out?” Alex suggested, hopefully. “In which case…”

“Lena doesn’t quit,” Sam said, stubbornly. “At least, not in _my_ experience. If she ever can’t follow through with something--which is rare, by the way--she’ll at least call or write a ten-page letter where 50% of the words are some variation of ‘I’m so sorry’, hand-delivered by an overpaid courier. And that’s happened, like, twice _max_.” She shook her head. “No, Lena Luthor doesn’t quit, stubborn as she is.”

“Then maybe something went wrong with her cake?” Alex suggested. “Like she dropped it or left it in the oven too long and had to redo it or--”

“Blasphemy,” a voice said from the doorway. Alex jumped and turned to see a triumphant Lena Luthor standing there, hair windswept with a lanky teen boy at her side, holding a large pastry box. “I don’t _burn_ cakes, Alex Danvers.”

Alex put her hands up. “Sorry for the insinuation, Lena,” she chuckled. “Just saying, there has to be some reason you’re so late.”

“Traffic,” Lena huffed, taking the box from the teen boy and patting the curls on his head in thanks. “I know it sounds like a lame excuse but some maniac tried to pull off a bank heist downtown and cars were backed up for a couple of miles. We had to walk here from our cab in the center of it all.”

“The wind is unforgiving,” the boy said, trying to right his curls into a neater style, before giving up completely and allowing them to spring out all over the place. “I’m Adrian, by the way.”

“My sous chef,” Lena added, helpfully, as she set her cake box down next to Kara’s. “You remember him, right Sam?”

“This is Ade?” Sam gasped. “Oh my goodness! I haven’t seen you since you started your T! Let me get a look at you!” She stepped in front of Adrian and asked silently for permission--which he granted--before taking his face in her hands and studying the hairs that were now growing above his lip and at the base of his jaw. His face looked a bit more square than the last time she saw him, too. “My god, I have to come by the bakery more often. You were practically Ruby’s age the last time I saw you!” She hugged Adrian and turned to her fiancee. “Ade, this is my Alex. Alex, this handsome little devil is Lena’s protege. He started working at her bakery practically when it opened.”

“Back when my voice still squeaked,” Adrian pointed out.

“It was a very manly squeak,” Sam cooed, pinching his cheek. Laughing, Adrian brushed her hand away. “How are your parents?”

“Lena keeps them fat and happy with all the leftover sweets she sends me home with,” Adrian said, side-eyeing his boss. “They got your invitation, by the way. Papi is very excited for the wedding.”

“Fantastic! Tell him to save a dance for me, okay?” She winked. “Did you help Lena with the cake?”

“Are you kidding?” Adrian laughed. “She wouldn’t let me _touch_ it! Besides, I had a lot of cookie orders to fill and classes to go to.”

“Oh, right! You’re going to Lena’s school, aren’t you?”

Adrian nodded. “Full scholarship,” he said, grinning. “Thanks to Lena.”

Lena blushed and cleared her throat. “So, where is Kara?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we have started this little contest by now?”

“She’s in Ruby’s room, playing MarioKart,” Alex informed her. 

“Not anymore,” Ruby’s voice fluttered through the apartment as she practically skipped out. “I totally just _destroyed_ her.” 

“You cheated!” came Kara’s voice after her. 

Ruby rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist. “Hi, Aunt Lena!” she exclaimed. 

“Hey, Rubes,” Lena replied, hugging her close and pressing her face into the teenager’s hair. “How’s school, kiddo?”

“Same old,” Ruby said, pulling away, before noticing Adrian not far behind Lena, still attempting to fix his hair in the hallway mirror. Her cheeks turned pink. “Who’s that?” she whispered to Lena.

“You don’t remember Adrian?” Lena asked, turning the young girl to face him. “He’s my assistant at the shop.” 

Adrian turned to smile at her and Ruby’s face reddened considerably. “What’s up?” he greeted. “I remember you. You were like _this_ tall when I first started working at Lena’s.” He held out his hand to around chest-height. 

“Well, I’m much taller now,” Ruby said, her voice cracking.

Adrian grinned and nodded. “I can see that. How old are you now, Ruby?”

“Fifteen,” Ruby said, straightening her spine.

“You’re fourteen,” Sam corrected.

“And three-quarters!” Ruby huffed, crossing her arms.

Adrian laughed. “Well you’re very grown up,” Adrian said. “Before long, you can start to help me in the kitchen at Lena’s. I’d be happy to have somebody to help me decorate the cakes and cookies.”

“Really?” Ruby asked and Kara could literally hear her heart starting to thump. She eyed Sam, who looked like she was either about to laugh or cry. Possibly both.

“Okay,” Alex said, wrapping her arm around Sam’s waist, “let’s get this thing started. Kara, where’s Nia? Didn’t she come in with you?”

“She fell asleep on Ruby’s futon,” Kara informed her. “I decided to just let her stay there. She’s been working overtime all week; she deserves a little rest.”

“Okay,” Alex sighed, “so, Ruby, how do you wanna do this, sweetheart? Should we close our eyes or…?”

“No, I have blindfolds!” She pulled out three tie-dye bandanas. “We’ll each put one on and then Lena and Kara can serve us their cakes.” She turned to stare each of them in the eyes. “Without speaking,” she warned. “Otherwise it’s not a real ‘blind’ test.”

“Well, technically,” Kara said, “that would be a deaf test…” 

At Ruby’s glare, she shut up.

“I see your point,” Kara said. “Proceed.”

“Mom,” Ruby said, “um, _other_ Mom, sit down at the table. Kara, Lena, put on their blindfolds. Make sure they can’t see. I’m watching you.” She gave them a serious look and Kara bit back a laugh as Lena chewed on a smile. They each took a blindfold and tied it around their respective sisters’ eyes. 

“Can you see anything?” Lena asked Sam

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Kara asked Alex.

“Not a thing,” Sam responded.

“How many fingers am _I_ holding up?” Alex asked, flipping the bird to open space. Kara giggled.

“Fair enough,” she said. “Ruby, you want me to--”

But Ruby was already looking at Adrian with a shy smile. “Can you tie my blindfold?” she asked him, her voice more timid than usual.

“Sure,” he said, “but let’s get you to a seat at the table first. Wouldn’t want you to trip over anything.” He placed his hand gently on her back and Lena could swear she saw the teen girl shiver as she was guided to a seat across from her parents, before Adrian plucked the bandana from her grasp and tied it deftly around her head, blocking her vision. “Can you see anything?” he asked, waggling his fingers a few inches from her nose. Ruby shook her head. “Good,” he said, before backing away and giving Kara and Lena a thumbs up. 

“Let the taste test commence!”


	5. Challengers Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena looked down at her own cake as Adrian opened the lid on their box and carefully lifted it out. She had spent nearly an hour painstakingly laying down cherries around the squared edges of the bottom tier, atop her homemade, dark chocolate, buttercream frosting and had fashioned a gift bow out of some candied ribbon that she knew Ruby would love for the top tier, but Kara Danvers had blown her design out of the water with those flowers.
> 
> She almost had the mind to quit right there and then...but Lena Luthor was no quitter.

The deal was for them to stay quiet as they each served up three slices of their respective cakes, but Lena almost failed spectacularly at that when she saw Kara’s cake as the blonde pulled it from the colorful pastry box.

Like Lena’s, it was double-tiered, with a smaller round on top of the larger. The main icing looked to be whipped--fluffy, white, and utterly delectable--and the decoration on the side of the cake were simple, but beautifully intimate and personal; a rainbow-painted rose and a lily with the colors of the bisexual flag. They were perfectly representative of the couple in question.

Lena looked down at her own cake as Adrian opened the lid on their box and carefully lifted it out. She had spent nearly an hour painstakingly laying down cherries around the squared edges of the bottom tier, atop her homemade, dark chocolate, buttercream frosting and had fashioned a gift bow out of some candied ribbon that she knew Ruby would love for the top tier, but Kara Danvers had blown her design out of the water with those flowers.

She almost had the mind to quit right there and then...but Lena Luthor was no quitter.

So she steeled herself and forced her eyes away from her competitor’s cake as she focused on cutting even slices from her own, making sure that the cherry preserves that she used as a paste between the layers didn’t spill out or make a mess.

It stayed perfectly in place, so at least she had that going for her.

Also, this was a blind test, so…

She and Adrian laid down the three slices of cake in front of their three testers, trying their hardest not to make a single sound, though Lena almost let out a tiny squeak when she heard the sudden crash of a dish from behind them.

Spinning around, she was met with the crimson-red cheeks of Kara Danvers as she stared down at the shattered pieces of china at her feet. She was still struggling to hold two other plates in her hands, her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip as she seemed to struggle with what to do next.

Lena sighed and made her way over to Kara, taking the plates from her hands. “I’ll handle that,” she whispered low enough for only the blonde to hear. “Cut a third slice and be careful, alright?”

Kara nodded, still blushing. “Thanks,” she said, sounding genuinely grateful. 

“Is everything alright?” Sam asked as Lena walked gracefully back to her, brandishing the two slices of cake, which smelled minty and sweet at the same time. She could see that there was a thin layer of chocolate mixed into the cake beneath the vanilla that seemed to complement the dessert quite well.

“Everything’s fine,” she assured her friend. “Keep the blindfolds on; we’ll deal with it.”

She placed the dishes on the table, pushing them toward the two women while Kara cut a third slice for Ruby and quickly brought it to the table. Their shoulders brushed and Lena’s breath hitched for a second, before she thought to step away and clear her throat.

“Dig in,” she said. “Forks to your right and water bottles toward the center of the table. Make sure you clean your palettes between bites.”

“We know how to conduct a taste test, Lena,” Sam snorted. “I’ve done this for you for literal  _ years _ .”

“Same,” Alex said, reaching blindly for one of the forks Adrian had set out for her. She finally grasped it and dug into Kara’s cake first, as if drawn in by her sister’s creation. She scooped a generous bite and brought it to her lips, humming in delight. “Wow,” she said. “What is that flavor? It’s like mint, but...like, not.”

“Wow, babe,” Sam chuckled, “poetic.” She squeaked as Alex poked her in the side and swatted her fiancee’s hand away, scooping a bit of Lena’s cake onto her fork and bringing it to her lips. “Ooh,” she said. “Cherry.  _ And  _ chocolate? Amazing mix. I really like the jam in the center.”

“Preserves,” Lena whispered under her breath. Kara snorted and she felt the corners of her lips turn up in satisfaction. 

“Wait,” Alex said. “Chocolate _and_ cherry jam. Lemme try!” She reached blindly for her second slice of cake, but before she could get a good scoop, Sam was holding her chin with her already filled fork raised to where she thought Alex’s lips should be.

“Open wide,” Sam said, affectionately, and Alex did as she was told…

...only to receive a cheek covered in dark chocolate and cherry preserves, just a bit reaching the corner of her lips. She let out a peal of laughter as she pushed Sam’s fork away and swiped at her cheek with her thumb. “Thanks, babe,” she said, sticking her thumb in her mouth for a taste. She let out a soft moan. “Oh, wow, that’s good. I’ve never had this before. What is it called?”

Lena started to open her mouth, but stopped when she felt a hand around her wrist. She turned her head, wide-eyed, to the side to see Kara shaking her head at her. She put her finger to her lips and Lena nodded, feeling her cheeks warm up a bit.

“You’ll get the flavor profiles after you make your decisions,” Adrian supplied, helpfully. “Until then, I’ve duct taped their mouths shut.”

“Good idea,” Sam giggled, pushing aside Lena’s Black Forest cake so that she could more easily test Kara’s vanilla. She speared a fluffy piece and brought it to her lips, gasping when the flavors met her tongue. “Lavender!” she exclaimed. “Oh, I love lavender.”

“Lavender?” Alex snorted. “I thought it was mint.”

“You’ve never tasted lavender before?” Sam asked. “It’s pretty minty, but you can tell the difference between lavender and, like, spearmint or peppermint. I also really like the vanilla and the subtle layer of chocolate. So good together. I love this cake.”

Kara preened, lifting her chin in pride. 

Lena pressed her lips together in annoyance. 

“I like the chocolate with cherries,” Alex said, causing Kara to droop next to her and Lena to smirk at her. Kara, ever mature, stuck out her tongue.

Lena felt an urge that she couldn’t quite describe take over her and she felt her body canting towards the blonde’s. Before she could get too far, however, she caught herself and pulled back, clearing her throat as she walked toward the table.

“Rubes,” she said, shaking off the tremors that Kara Danvers had set off in her, “what do you think? Which cake is better?”

“Well,” Ruby said, nibbling a bit from the lavender and vanilla slice, “I really like the minty one.” Kara beamed. “But I also  _ love _ cherries.” Lena smirked. Ruby sighed, sitting back in her seat. “I can’t decide.”

“What?!” Kara and Lena said in unison as Ruby stripped off the blindfold.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Lena,” Ruby said. “Aunt Kara. I just can’t decide. I like them both.”

“Ruby, sweetie,” Lena said, “you have to pick one. That was the whole point of the test.”

Ruby sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe if I saw what the cakes looked like?” she said. “Moms and I can all decide.”

“Kind of defeats the purpose of a ‘blind’ taste test,” Kara murmured, “but okay.”

She went to retrieve her cake from the kitchen island, but Lena’s hand on her wrist stopped her. She felt a burning sensation as she turned to the brunette and felt her cheeks go hot. Lena shook her head. 

“No reason it can’t still be a blind test,” Lena said, letting go of Kara’s wrist as she turned to her friends. “Scientifically, anyway. Single-blind.”

“Nerd,” Alex huffed, taking off her blindfold.

“Oh,  _ you’re _ one to talk,” Sam laughed, stripping off her own and grabbing Alex’s hand to guide her toward the two cakes. Her mouth gaped open as she spotted Kara’s first, tears springing to her eyes. “Oh my god…” Her hand rose to press over her mouth as she traced the colorful fondant flowers with her eyes. “Lena...this is beautiful.”

Kara and Lena shared a look. Kara was both pleased and insulted by the insinuation that apparently only  _ Lena _ could create something so beautiful, but she wasn’t about to ruin the ‘experiment’. She kept her mouth shut and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ooh,” Alex said, “that is pretty, but this bow is adorable! And...is it...is it candy?” She looked to Kara for the answer and the blonde tried to keep her face impassive.

“Try it,” she said, silently hoping that it wasn’t candy and she was about to trick her traitorous sister into eating actual silk.

No such luck.

“Mm,” Alex said, popping a small piece of the rainbow taffy ribbon into her mouth. “That tastes great.”

Lena bit back her thank you and instead delighted in the flush of anger across Kara Danvers’s cheeks.

“What do you think, Ruby?” she asked, instead, looking down at the young woman. “Which cake looks better to you?”

Ruby studied each cake carefully for a few moments, before she sighed and shook her head. “I have no idea,” she said. “I can’t decide.”

“What?”

“Still?”

“I’m sorry!” Ruby exclaimed. “I like them both! But, like, differently?” She shrugged. “I think the round tiers look better and more suited to a wedding than the square,” she explained. “And I  _ really  _ love those flowers--they’re the perfect representation of Mom and Alex.” Kara brightened. “But the vanilla icing is kind of...boring.” She glanced apologetically between the two women. “I think that the chocolate buttercream would look  _ way _ better, but without the cherries on top. I  _ do  _ like the bow, though.”

“I feel like we’re all on an episode of Masterchef,” Adrian muttered, causing Kara to snicker and Lena to bite back a smile. 

“What’s the final judgement here, Rubes?” Sam asked, placing her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Which cake gets the place of honor at our wedding?”

Ruby took a deep breath and pretty much everybody leaned in to hear what she had to say. She took one more glance around before speaking.

“Both.”


	6. Partners?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “They tricked us,” Kara huffed. “They told us that we were competing when, actually, they were trying to get us to ‘work together’.” She scoffed. “Like I’d ever work with that self-important, prissy, too-pretty-for-you-commoners--”
> 
> “Okay, calm down,” Nia said. “Lena Luthor isn’t that bad. And I’m pretty sure she isn’t so jazzed about having to work with you, either.”
> 
> “Not that anybody could tell with that emotionless robot.”
> 
> “Somebody’s a sore loser, huh?”
> 
> “I didn’t lose!”
> 
> “Well, from the way you’re carrying on,” Nia muttered, “it doesn’t seem like you won, either.”

“This has to have been their plan from the beginning,” Kara grumbled as she practically dragged a sleepy Nia back to the truck, situating the young alien into the passenger side of the vehicle. Nia had slept through the entirety of the taste test, only to be woken up by the sound of half a dozen voices bickering in the next room. She had padded out to find Kara and Lena practically at one another’s throats with Adrian, Lena’s assistant, standing between them to keep one from murdering the other, while trying to plead with Ruby, who was saying _something_ about how the ‘collaboration’ could be beneficial since they were all about to be one big family anyway, right? Sam and Alex were trying to calm everything down, but were also bickering with one another and pleading with Ruby about _something_ and…

Well, it was all just super confusing for somebody who had just woken up from a dream about fields of lavender under a red sun, which didn’t even exist in this galaxy. Weird.

“Tell me again what happened?” she requested as Kara navigated the packed streets of downtown National City.

“They tricked us,” Kara huffed. “They told us that we were competing when, actually, they were trying to get us to ‘work together’.” She scoffed. “Like I’d ever work with that self-important, prissy, too-pretty-for-you-commoners--”

“Okay, calm down,” Nia said. “Lena Luthor isn’t that bad. And I’m pretty sure she isn’t so jazzed about having to work with you, either.”

“Not that anybody could tell with that emotionless robot.”

“Somebody’s a sore loser, huh?”

“I _didn’t_ lose!”

“Well, from the way you’re carrying on,” Nia muttered, “it doesn’t seem like you won, either.”

* * *

“This is _ridiculous_!” Lena huffed as she flipped the lightswitch on in her shop. “I can’t believe they’re making me do this.”

“Well, technically,” Adrian said, coming in behind her, “nobody’s _making_ you do anything. Both Sam and Alex gave you an Kara each an out. Either one of you could have backed down and--”

“Let her win?” Lena scoffed. “It’s like you don’t even know me.”

Adrian gave a long-suffering sigh. “You know,” he said, “it’s not a contest, anymore. You two are going to have to work together now. Like a team. You understand that, right?”

“Yes, Ade,” Lena huffed. “I understand. I just...I don’t think I should have to share a kitchen with somebody so...unorganized.”

“I thought this whole feud stuff was just a Twitter facade,” Adrian said, following her into the back. “Do you actually have a reason to hate Kara Danvers?”

“I don’t hate her,” Lena bristled. “I just...I don’t believe we would work well together.”

“Well, ain’t that the truth,” Adrian laughed. “Then again, you’ve never really been good at teamwork.”

Lena spun around at that. “What do you mean? I work just fine with _you_.”

“Lena, we both know that I’m your assistant,” he pointed out. “And what you say goes. It’s just not going to be the same with Kara; she’s a chef, too. Your _equal_. She doesn’t have to do everything you say, and vice versa. I don’t think you’ll be able to handle it, frankly.” At her withering glare, Adrian blanched and stepped back. “Or maybe you will. What the hell do I know?” He looked down at his wrist. “Wow, is that the time? I ought to get home before Mami and Papi start to worry. See you tomorrow, boss!” 

With that, he turned on his heel and sped back to the door.

“You’re not even wearing a watch!” Lena called after him, but he was already gone.

She sighed, slumping onto a stool at the kitchen island and laying her head in her hands. What a mess this day had become. She had been sure, just that morning, as she put the finishing touches on her Black Forest cake, that she could surely beat out Kara for the job.

But then she’d had to show up with a _lavender_ cake. Who the hell thought of _lavender_ for a wedding cake?

Well, okay, _Lena_ did. She had made plenty of wedding cakes with lavender in them. It was a good flavor and it went well with pretty much everything. Especially vanilla. Hell, Lena even had a perfume that smelled like…

Lena raised her head as realization dawned on her.

“No…” she said aloud. Because it couldn’t be possible. Kara Danvers couldn’t have made a cake--an entire wedding cake--based on...her. Could she?

Lena shook her head. No. No way. She was just getting full of herself. Kara Danvers didn’t even _like_ her, let alone want to base an entire cake--and entry for their little wedding competition--on her. That was absurd. 

The bell rang on the front door and Lena sighed. Adrian had probably forgotten something. Or he just didn’t lock the door and some hapless lesbian couple had wandered in for some late night treats. She looked at the clock on the wall and cursed under her breath. It was nearly half an hour past closing, which meant that they’d have to settle for whatever was left in the display case of cookies and donuts before she gathered them up to send to the soup kitchen for the night. She hoped they didn’t want a full cake, because planning that out took time.

Time that she didn’t…

“Hey,” Kara Danvers greeted as Lena stepped up to the register. Her arms were crossed over her chest and there was a somewhat petulant look on her face, but she was...calm. Calmer than Lena had ever seen her, actually. Her cheeks had a soft flush on them, but not the usual indignant look in her eyes that often accompanied it when she was in the Luthor’s presence. Her hair was out of its usual braid or ponytail, swept over her shoulder in cascading blonde waves. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses sat at the edge of her nose, almost like Kara didn’t even need them.

Lena tried to hide the surprise on her face. “Hello,” she greeted in return. “To what do I owe this...unexpected visit?”

“We should talk,” Kara replied, her voice soft and calm, like the receding waves on a beach. “About the wedding, I mean. The cake.” She cleared her throat. “We should plan out what we’re going to do.”

“Well, Ruby gave us some pretty clear-cut instructions, didn’t she?” Lena replied. “Chocolate frosting, cherry preserves, lavender, those little flowers that you did, and a candied ribbon. Seems simple enough.”

“It’s Sam and Alex’s wedding cake,” Kara huffed. “It’ll never be simple. Especially when they’re expecting _us_ to work together to make it.” She was silent for a moment. “Do you think you can do that? Work with me?”

“Do _you_?” Lena shot back.

“Of course,” Kara said, though she bristled a bit. “I’m an adult, after all.”

“Are you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lena stared pointedly at the thigh of Kara’s relaxed-fit jeans, which had several flowers sketched on them in different colored sharpie. Kara looked down to what her gaze had fallen on and frowned.

“Last I checked,” she said, “my ability to make cute flowers was an asset. After all, Sam seemed to like them.”

“Because she thought that _I_ made them,” Lena pointed out, with a self-satisfied smirk.

“She didn’t stop liking them when she found out that _I_ was the one who crafted them, did she now?” Kara retorted, before shaking her head. “That’s not the point. The point is we have to learn to get along, at least until the wedding is over and our two _best friends in the entire world_ are married and live happily ever after. Then the only time we’ll ever have to interact is through Twitter...and a few holiday meals a year. Deal?”

She stepped forward and held out her hand, offering it to Lena. 

Lena took it, primly, her grip strong, but cautious, shaking Kara’s hand twice, firmly, before letting go. “Deal,” she said, after a long pause. “We’ll meet back here tomorrow, after closing.”

“I was actually thinking,” Kara said, “we could meet at my place. My kitchen is fully stocked with all the supplies we’ll need and--”

“And you think mine isn’t?”

“ _And_ ,” Kara continued, pointedly ignoring her, “my apartment has a private entrance through the back, so nobody needs to know that Princess Perfect collaborated with the enemy. Bring whatever you need with you, okay?” Lena was silent. “Cool. I’ll see you then.” 

Before Lena could say anything else, the blonde was gone.

She stood there for another several moments, before something else occurred to her.

“Wait,” she said aloud to nobody at all, “your _apartment_?” 

* * *

“You brought _wine_ to bake a cake?” Kara asked, incredulously, when she opened the door to see Lena Luthor standing there with a tote bag under one arm and a bottle of red in her opposite hand. “Wait, that wasn’t _in_ the cake you gave Ruby, was it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lena huffed in return, handing her the bottle as she brushed past and Kara caught another whiff of whatever lavender-and-vanilla-scented thing she was wearing. Why did it make her hair stand on end like that? “This isn’t wine for cooking. This is for relaxing and getting through stressful situations.”

“You find baking stressful?” Kara asked, shutting her front door and following Lena into the kitchen, where she placed the bottle down with all of the ingredients and baking tools she’d set up.

“Not the baking,” Lena retorted, searching through Kara’s cupboards for appropriate glassware, “so much as the company.”

“I’m flattered,” Kara said dryly, digging into a nearby drawer for a corkscrew. She tugged it out just as Lena pulled down two novelty wine glasses. One was from Kara’s 21st birthday and was nearly the size of her head and the other said “Boss Bitch” and was a gift from Alex from the day that Kara had opened the bakery. 

It was only slightly smaller than the former.

“Are these really the only wine glasses you have?” Lena asked, washing them out in the impressively large and impeccably clean sink. 

“I don’t really drink that often,” Kara retorted. “Those glasses are mostly for laughs.”

“I don’t understand how you can get through a busy day at a bakery without ending it with a glass of Merlot,” Lena commented, drying the glasses and bringing them to the counter. Kara poured the wine, shoving the larger of the two glasses toward Lena.

“Usually,” she said, “I just order takeout or take one of the leftover cakes home. That’s my stress relief.”

“But aren’t you quite _bored_ of sweets and fattening foods after spending all day with them?”

Kara looked scandalized. “Never!” she said. “Besides, I have a pretty, um, _fast_ metabolism, so taking in a lot of calories is a must.”

“Fast metabolism?” Lena muttered into her ridiculously large glass of wine. “That explains it.”

“Explains _what_?” Kara’s brows furrowed, and her lips pursed.

“Your figure,” Lena said, motioning to Kara’s body and causing the other woman to blush. Kara Danvers, like Lena, had a very slim, fit figure for somebody who could apparently take down a full cake on her own. But where Lena’s diet comprised kale and quinoa and other “health junk” (as Adrian so beautifully put it), Kara seemed to survive off of the sweets she baked day in and out. Any other woman with a slower metabolism might have weighed twice what Kara seemed to, but the blonde was practically floating around the kitchen, her glass of wine forgotten as she readied the ingredients for their first attempt at a collaboration.

Lena didn’t miss the flush on her cheeks, however. Or the way Kara tugged at the hem of her t-shirt, her hand pausing on the bit of flesh at her abdomen that qualified as a “belly”. 

Kara cleared her throat. “Well,” she said, avoiding Lena’s gaze, “I also do go running on occasion. With my sister.”

“I didn’t know that Alex was a runner,” Lena commented. “Sam never said anything about it.”

“Well, we haven’t gone much since they started dating,” Kara said, with a shrug. “Mostly because of Alex’s reticence to get out of bed and what with my bakery opening pretty early, anyway. I do still try to go running in National Park on Sunday mornings. I missed this past weekend, though, because of the taste test.”

“So you’ll just have to run twice the length next time,” Lena suggested. Her glass was nearly empty and she was feeling warm, but not yet buzzed. She eyed the bottle.

“Maybe so,” Kara chuckled, scratching the back of her head as she turned back to the kitchen island with a few mixing bowls. “You can drink my wine, if you want.”

“I probably shouldn’t,” Lena said, placing her glass in the sink. “I don’t want to be buzzed while baking. It’s too easy to make mistakes that way.”

“At least this time you have a helping hand,” Kara pointed out, tying her apron on.

“Adrian helps.”

“With baking the wedding cakes?”

“Okay, maybe not with that,” Lena conceded, “but he knows my recipes by heart, so if there’s ever a slight chance that I’ll slip up, I trust him to point it out. But it’s incredibly rare, of course.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Of course,” she echoed. 

Lena ignored the prickliness in Kara’s words and tugged her own apron on. It had the name of her bakery embroidered on the pocket.

_La Renaissance._

Kara’s was plain and red, but it fit her well.

 _Very_ well.

Okay, maybe she’d had more wine than she thought.

Lena cleared her throat and started emptying the tote bag, taking out a few small jars of her cherry preserves, a bottle of vanilla extract, and a thick block of baker’s chocolate. 

“I assume you have powdered sugar and milk,” she said, offhandedly. “If not, I can just run across the street and--”

Before Lena could finish her sentence, Kara placed a glass bowl of fine white sugar in front of her. It had a rainbow label on it—as did all the other glass bowls on the counter, filled with baking ingredients. 

“The milk is in the fridge,” the blonde informed her. “I have whole, skim, 2%, almond, oat, soy, and hemp. Use whatever you need for the frosting. Cool?”

Lena nodded, pulling the sugar closer and inspecting it. The rainbow on the label was in the classic ROY G BIV pattern. 

“So,” Lena said, after a moment of silence, in which she and Kara worked silently to sort out the ingredients they needed, “are you gay like your sister?”

“What?” Kara asked, her face turning bright red--not in anger, but in embarrassment and shock. “No! No, I’m just…no, I’m not.”

“Okay, relax,” Lena said, holding her hands up. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“I’m not insulted,” Kara huffed, turning her focus back to the cup of baking soda in front of her. “I have a gay sister. I just...what makes you think I’m gay?”

“All the rainbow-patterned labels,” Lena started; “the fact that you run a bakery that caters mostly to the queer population of National City; the rainbow tapestry hanging on the wall behind your couch. Among other things.”

“Okay, well, one: the tapestry is from Alex’s first Pride. It reminds me why the queer community and visibility is so important because it took her a hell of a long time to finally come out, even to me. Two: it’s not a crime to like rainbows; I’m a very colorful, sunny person, dammit. And three: I don’t ban straight people from coming into my bakery, just like I don’t ban anybody else without hate in their heart. It just so happens that my cakes and cookies and sweets appeal to the queer community. It doesn’t hurt that Nia advertises at her trans support group and word just spreads.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I’m gay, but I _am_ incredibly supportive of all sexualities.”

“So, you’ve _never_ been attracted to another woman?” Lena asked, incredulously. “Or somebody who identifies as anything other than a man?”

Kara blushed again and looked away, no longer focusing on the ingredients before her, but rather on the countertop. “I didn’t say that.”

“You basically did,” Lena pointed out. “You used a lot of words to do it, too.”

“I just said I’m not gay,” Kara snapped. “I didn’t say I wasn’t...anything else. Not everything is black or white; gay or straight.”

“Oh. Then what are you?”

“I don’t know, okay!?”

Kara pushed away from the counter, fully turning away from Lena and stomping toward the living area, where she sat on her couch, her arms folded over her chest. Immediately, Lena felt something like guilt well up in her chest.


	7. Working Partners....Maybe Something More?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now she was about to drive away Kara Danvers, who was practically about to become her sister-in-law. 
> 
> Not that she cared.
> 
> Because she didn’t.
> 
> Obviously.

_ Shit _ , she thought to herself.  _ Shit, not again. _

It was exactly this kind of pestering that had cost her the first girlfriend that she’d ever had. The first girl that she knew with absolute certainty that she had actually liked as more than just a friend (not that she  _ had  _ many of those at the boarding school her mother had shipped her off to the second she was old enough). The girl who had never quite come out of the closet, even while they were seeing each other (and everybody kind of knew it, but never said anything, like an unspoken rule). While Lena had been secure enough in her sexuality to come out to her classmates and family (Lillian didn’t give a damn what gender or genders she was attracted to, so long as she remained a perfect student; Lex wore a rainbow pin on his school blazer for her), the other girl, Eve, refused to name her own sexuality and instead told her parents that  _ Lex _ was the Luthor she had fallen for, despite their considerable age difference.

Even then, she insisted that marrying a man over a decade her senior was far more favorable than a woman. But Lena continued to push the issue until she’d driven Eve away. For good.

And now she was about to drive away Kara Danvers, who was practically about to become her sister-in-law. 

Not that she cared.

Because she didn’t.

Obviously.

Still, if growing up gay taught her anything, it’s that it’s hard to put a label on yourself, no matter what the situation, because sexuality is so damn confusing in the first place. There were several times she’d thought she might just be faking her homosexuality, times where she found herself thinking about what it might be like to kiss a boy-- _ hell,  _ times when she  _ had  _ kissed a boy, or a man--only for that feeling deep in her chest telling her that something was wrong with that situation. 

Only now does she know better.

Or, at least, she thought she did.

“Hey,” Lena said, with a sigh, as she walked toward the couch, where Kara was looking pointedly  _ away _ from her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...I didn’t want to pressure you. You don’t have to, you know,  _ tell  _ me anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

Kara rolled her eyes and turned her head to look at Lena. “I’m not  _ uncomfortable _ with my sexuality at all,” she said. “I just...I don’t have a label for it. Yet.” She turned away. “I didn’t even realize that I was having feelings like this until Alex came out.”

“Gay feelings, you mean?” Lena asked, mostly as a joke.

But Kara’s response was serious. “Yes,” she said. “I mean, I’ve liked guys all my life. Since I was a teenager. I even had a few boyfriends and I loved being with them. Then Alex came out and it was like a whole new realm of possibilities.” She tried to run her hand through her hair before remembering that she had tied it up, so she played with some of the loose ends. “I went with her to a few lesbian bars as a way of support, but that stopped after I started to get more phone numbers than she did.”

This time, Kara laughed and Lena followed suit. She could see why the blonde would get some attention. She wasn’t unattractive. And she had arms that looked like they could lift a car. Arms that could lift  _ her _ and press her against--

_ Stop it! _ Her mind chastised her and Lena felt heat in her cheeks as she turned her face away from Kara, who wasn’t even looking at her in the first place.

Still.

“I waited, though,” Kara continued, “until Alex had gotten more comfortable with her sexuality and was way more confident with being out in public. I was so  _ proud _ of her, you know? I held her hand at our first Pride together. I even helped her paint her face rainbow. I let her stick little flags in my bun.” She giggled then and Lena’s belly lit on fire, her heart fluttering at the sound. “I looked like a total dork.”

“Well, that probably wasn’t unusual for you,” Lena teased, laughing when Kara stuck her tongue out at her. “Does Alex know now?”

Kara nodded. “I told her about six months after she came out.” Kara smiled softly at the memory. “She said ‘duh’.” Lena laughed out loud at that and Kara’s grin widened. “Yeah, she said it was pretty obvious after she came out and her  _ gaydar _ was activated. Especially when my cousin’s sister-in-law, Lucy, came around to family dinners.” Kara sighed dreamily. “I had a ridiculous crush on her, but I think at least 65% of that was from the fact that she drove a motorcycle.”

“I used to have a motorcycle,” Lena blurted like word vomit. She placed a hand over her mouth as she felt her cheeks begin to flame up. Kara turned to her with wide eyes.

“You?” she said. “A motorcycle? Seriously?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Lena asked, suddenly defensive. Her motorcycle had been part of a teen rebel phase that had waned as she entered her twenties, but it was still a significant (and embarrassing) part of her life. Even if it only lasted two years, max.

“I just...I can’t picture you riding a motorcycle, is all,” Kara admitted. “I mean, you’re all... _ prim _ .”

“Prim?” Lena hoffed.

“ _ And _ proper,” Kara added, straightening her back and pointing her nose in the air, like some kind of stuck-up aristocrat. She couldn’t hold that position for more than two seconds before she once again began to giggle, sinking back into the cushions. Lena glared at her and began to stand up, silently fuming. Kara reached out for her hand, pulling her back to the couch. “Wait, Lena,” she said, still grinning despite herself, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult you. It’s just...well,  _ look  _ at you. Even now, half-buzzed, you’re way more classy than I could ever hope to be. You were raised in a mansion with the  _ Luthors _ and you attended all these fancy boarding schools that probably taught you how to eat dinner with ten forks and twenty spoons. Meanwhile, I still have no clue what to do with those fancy cloth napkins they give you at nice restaurants.” She gave Lena a sideways, bashful grin and shrugged. “It’s just hard to imagine you in all that leather, riding on the back of a Harley.”

“I had a Yamaha,” Lena retorted, almost immediately. She relaxed, though, allowing her back to touch the cushions instead of perching on the edge of her seat like before. “Lex bought it for me behind our mother’s back. I only rode it when I was away at school because I knew she would never approve. She found out, obviously, and pressured Lex into taking it back.”

“Is that...how? You just said it was a gift.”

“It was still under Lex’s name. She threatened to disinherit him if he didn’t take it back and sell it. She knew that wouldn’t have worked on me. We never really liked each other; I was just a pawn to make her look good.” Lena looked away at this, but Kara could swear she saw a tear in her eye. She squeezed Lena’s hand more tightly, trying to comfort her without words. Lena jumped slightly at the pressure and looked down at Kara’s fingers wrapped around hers as if noticing them for the first time.

Their eyes met and Lena could feel her heartbeat in her ears. Behind her glasses, Kara’s eyes were blue.  _ So  _ blue. Why had it taken her this long to realize how blue her eyes were? Or how beautifully her nose sloped. Or how pink her lips were. Or how--

Without noticing it, she and Kara had started to get closer, their noses an inch apart, their fingers still linked between their bodies. Kara’s eyes flitted down for a second and Lena knew that she had just glanced at her own lips. She licked them and watched as Kara’s pupils dilated. Their lips parted and Lena began to close her eyes, leaning in further, about to close the gap between their mouths…

The shrill ring of a phone broke them apart so violently that Kara fell off the couch with a thud, her glasses slipping to the edge of her nose. Lena didn’t fare much better, but at least she was able to land on her feet as she rushed into the kitchen to find her phone. 

It was on the counter where she left it and, sighing, she saw that it was Adrian trying to FaceTime her. Lena spent a few moments composing herself before swiping her thumb across to answer. 

“Hey, Adrian,” she greeted, trying to sound casual, “what’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” Adrian replied. “Just bored. How’s the baking going? Did you kill her yet?”

“What?” Kara exclaimed.

“He’s joking, obviously,” Lena said, with a smirk. She winked at Adrian.

“I saw that!” Kara called out, which made Adrian snicker.

“Sorry, Miss Danvers!” Adrian said. “We really are just joking.” Then, in a mock whisper: “Go for the jugular.”

Lena was about to respond when something hit her in the left cheek. To her surprise, it was Kara’s  _ right _ cheek. The blonde glared at Adrian. 

“Don’t call me  _ Miss _ ,” she said. “I’m not that much older than you. My name is  _ Kara _ . Got it?”

“Yes,  _ Kara _ ,” Adrian replied, dragging out her name. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah,” Kara said, “those little flowers you make for Lena’s cakes? They need work.”

Adrian clutched his heart. “I’ve been  _ wounded _ !” he said, dramatically. “How could you be so  _ cruel _ ?” 

Kara just stuck her tongue out at him and walked away. Lena rolled her eyes.

“Children,” she said. “I am surrounded by children.”

“You never answered my question,” Adrian huffed. “And I’m not a child.” It was his turn to stick his tongue out. Lena gave him a look and he smirked, sheepishly. “Sorry,” he said. “So...the cake?”

“Hasn’t even gone in the oven yet,” she informed him.

“Seriously?” Adrian huffed. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long,” Lena said, looking at the time. “It’s only been…” She trailed off, realizing that she had been there for well over an hour and they hadn’t even gotten started on fixing the recipe yet. “Well, we have two very different cakes to work off of,” she said, avoiding answering the question. “It’s harder than you might imagine.”

“Uh-huh,” Adrian said, sarcastically, “and I’m sure it has  _ nothing _ to do with the fact that you’re getting distracted by a particular hot  _ blon--” _

“Okay, bye Adrian!” Lena said, quickly hanging up. She took a deep breath and turned the ringer off on her phone. When she turned around, Kara was staring at her, head tilted to the side, like a puppy. “He should be studying,” Lena said, by way of an extremely _ lame _ excuse. 

“It’s June,” Kara pointed out. “Isn’t school over for the summer?”

“He picked up some summer classes,” Lena lied. “He wants to finish school early. So, you know.” She shrugged and cleared her throat. “Anyway, let’s get started on that recipe, shall we? We’ve wasted more than enough time.” She pulled out her notepad and opened it up to the recipe she had used for Sam and Alex’s prospective wedding cake, which was marked with all sorts of notes from the tasting. 

Kara considered her for a moment more, before she shrugged and pulled out her own recipe, plopping it onto the counter next to Lena’s. Her notes were far more colorful than Lena’s, but not quite as detailed. Still, she at least had okay handwriting. At least Lena could read it.

“I think we should look for similarities in the basics,” Lena said, tearing a new sheet of paper from her notepad, “and go from there.”

“Agreed,” Kara said. “Let’s get started.”

With that, she leaned in and Lena tried to ignore the scent of her perfume or cologne or  _ whatever _ that was, leaning away slightly. If Kara noticed this, she didn’t say anything and instead began to make marks on her recipe where it matched Lena’s. Lena could swear she caught a frown on her lips, however, and felt instantly bad. But, at the same time, she wouldn’t let herself get that close to kissing the blonde again.

They were supposed to be enemies. Or, at the very least, adversaries.

And adversaries don’t kiss.


	8. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a weight on her chest. A heavy weight. A comforting weight.
> 
> A weight that smelled like flour and chocolate and cherries. Lena inhaled deeply and felt her lips curl into a sleepy smile as she wrapped her arms even more tightly around the weight, which she had apparently been hugging in her sleep. She hadn’t been this relaxed in ages . When did her bed get so soft and comfortable and where the hell had she gotten this sweet-smelling weighted blanket from? She needed to order another for Sam and maybe one for Ruby. This was the best sleep she had gotten in so long and--
> 
> Suddenly, the “blanket” let out a tiny snort and shifted in Lena’s arms, tightening its arms around her waist and breathing hotly against her neck. Lena felt a shiver go down her spine as she suddenly realized that no, she had never bought a weighted blanket (but it was on her to-do list), and no , she was not in her own bed, but was in fact in the bed of another baker that, not too long ago, she hadn’t been so friendly with…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM NOT SORRY FOR THE TROPES

Five cakes. They baked _five_ cakes with their combined recipes, each with a different variation and ratio of ingredients until they were certain that it was perfect.

Or as perfect as they could possibly get it at four in the morning, at least. That was when the last cake came out of the oven and went straight onto the last cooling rack in Kara’s freezer, where the four other cakes were already occupying most of the space, each with a small piece cut out for tasting purposes. 

Both Kara and Lena were fighting to keep their eyes open as they finally took out the last cake. Kara was eyeing her bed with longing, more tired than she had ever been before. It looked to be over a thousand miles away, though she knew flying to it would take no more than a second or two. Despite how tired she was, though, she was all too aware of Lena Luthor’s presence in the apartment with her and she wasn’t about to reveal her alien DNA to somebody who had the means and the inclination to reveal her secret to the world.

Not that Lena would have even noticed. She was practically dead on her feet, leaning against the kitchen island as if letting go would send her crashing to the floor. Kara gave her a kind, tired smile as she shut the freezer door and walked over to Lena, placing one shoulder on her hand. The brunette startled and looked up, bleary-eyed. Kara gave her a soft smile and tugged on her arm a little.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s get some sleep.”

Lena nodded and allowed herself to be pulled away from the counter, her eyes closing as they moved, trusting Kara to lead her somewhere she could lay her head for the next couple of hours. When she opened them again, she found herself standing before the blonde’s bed, Kara’s hand no longer on her arm as she pulled down the comforter on her bed and fluffed a pillow on the left side. When Kara turned back and motioned for Lena to lay down, she hesitated. 

“Go on,” Kara said. “I’ll take the couch.”

“What? No, that’s ridiculous,” Lena scoffed. “This is _your_ bed. I’ll take the couch!” She turned to head back into the living area, but doing so caused her tired brain some confusion and dizziness, nearly toppling her. Thankfully, Kara was there to catch her, her hands landing on Lena’s hips as, with amazing strength, she lifted her and placed her gently on the mattress. 

“You’re too tired to even walk right now, Lena,” Kara said. “Go on. Sleep. I’ll just be over there.” 

Now it was Kara’s turn to walk away. But she didn’t get very far before she felt Lena’s long, delicate fingers wrap firmly around her wrist. When she turned back with a look of surprise, Lena had one eyebrow lifted over incredibly tired green eyes. 

“It’s a queen-sized bed,” she said. “We can both fit.” She tugged and despite Kara’s alien strength, she found herself stumbling toward Lena in the bed as the brunette moved over to the other side, allowing Kara to climb in after her.

Her face must have been beet red as she settled in under the covers, but Lena didn’t care. She was far too tired and wasn’t about to have Kara Danvers blaming her in the morning for her sore back and neck. Besides, the bed was large enough and they were both small enough that they wouldn’t even have to touch and they could still be comfortable. 

Still, that did not change the fact that she could practically _feel_ Kara’s breathing across the expanse of sheets. 

Lena shut her eyes, trying to ignore the blonde laying just a foot away, _in the same damn bed_ , and focused on the sleep she so desperately desired. _It’s not the only thing you desire_ , said the stupid little voice in her head. Lena was asleep before she could even think to tell it to shut up.

* * *

There was a weight on her chest. A _heavy_ weight. A _comforting_ weight.

A weight that smelled like flour and chocolate and cherries. Lena inhaled deeply and felt her lips curl into a sleepy smile as she wrapped her arms even more tightly around the weight, which she had apparently been hugging in her sleep. She hadn’t been this relaxed in _ages_. When did her bed get so soft and comfortable and where the hell had she gotten this sweet-smelling weighted blanket from? She needed to order another for Sam and maybe one for Ruby. This was the best sleep she had gotten in so long and--

Suddenly, the “blanket” let out a tiny snort and shifted in Lena’s arms, tightening its arms around her waist and breathing hotly against her neck. Lena felt a shiver go down her spine as she suddenly realized that no, she had never bought a weighted blanket (but it was on her to-do list), and _no_ , she was not in her own bed, but was in fact in the bed of another baker that, not too long ago, she hadn’t been so friendly with…

Lena squeezed her eyes tight and groaned softly to herself. This could _not_ be happening right now. No way. There was no _fucking_ way that she was in bed with Kara Danvers. Nope. Not happening. This was just a really weird dream. Not a _bad_ dream, mind you (she wasn’t blind to Kara’s hotness or the length of her fingers - and the short cut of her finger _nails_ ), but this could _not_ be happening. If any of her Twitter followers found out that she had slept in the bed of who they deemed her ‘worst enemy’, she would most _definitely_ lose business.

Not that she cared about Twitter or didn’t have a reputation to _survive_ the loss of business, but that really wasn’t the point. The point was...um, the point was....okay, she could _not focus when Kara’s hand was suddenly gripping her breast like that_.

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked down her body, surprised to see that Kara had shifted position _again_ over her body and was now laying with her head pillowed on one of Lena’s breasts with her right hand gripped Lena’s left tit, her hand cupped around it like it was some kind of pillow. Lena felt her entire body heat at the sight of Kara Danvers’s open mouth so close to her nipple. 

Lena let out another groan. It was louder this time, and filled with a different kind of frustration.

Apparently, it was just loud enough to rouse the blonde from her slumber because, before Lena knew it, she was staring deep into the sky blue eyes of her adversary, who blinked sleepily up at her and furrowed her brow.

“Lena?” Kara asked. “What time is it? Why are you in my…”

It was like something out of a cartoon when Kara’s eyes popped fully open and her gaze slowly trailed from Lena’s green eyes, across the expanse of her neck and collarbone, down to where Kara’s right hand was resting on her breast. And then, as if it wasn’t bad enough that she was passively fondling Lena, Kara’s hands suddenly _flexed_ , making her _actively squeeze Lena’s tit._

Lena let out a soft gasp and Kara must have taken that for offense because she let go with such urgency that the velocity of her arm caused her to turn over and then tumble off the bed, completely, falling to the floor, face first, as her legs stay tangled in the blankets. 

“Ouch!” Kara huffed a full ten seconds later, as if the fall had dazed her. Lena crawled across the bed and looked down at the blonde, whose body was twisted in an awkward position, one cheek squished against the floor, while her ass stuck up in the air, her legs twitching in a half-assed attempt to get free. 

_I’ve seen porns start like this_ , Lena thought with a bit of mirth as she tried to hold back laughter.

“Are you okay?” she asked Kara, who just groaned in response. Lena shook her head and sat back up. She reached for Kara’s shins, doing quick work of disentangling them from the sheets before shoving them from the bed to join the rest of Kara’s body. They fell with a thump and the next time Lena looked, Kara was splayed out on the floor, her arms and legs in a spread-eagle position, her eyes closed and her cheeks bright pink.

 _Still reminds me of porn_ , said her asshole brain. She shook the thoughts away.

Before she could ask, again, if Kara was okay, the other woman surprised her by jumping to her feet and clearing her throat, looking at Lena with her mouth open as if to say something, but unable to find the words. She pressed her lips together, then, and just pointed to the kitchen, before walking off, her shoulders hunched slightly, her feet far too quick after the fall she’d just had.

Lena watched for a moment as Kara approached the kitchen island on the other side of the apartment and planted her hands on the counter before she hung her head and let out a groan just loud enough to reach Lena’s ears. Lena replied with a soft groan of her own, shutting her eyes tight in embarrassment and empathy for the other woman. 

Despite their rivalry online, Lena knew that Kara wasn’t a bad person. Quite the opposite, actually. Kara Danvers had thrown fundraisers in her bakery, benefitting several charities that help the homeless, lgbtq+ youth, and suicide prevention. She had provided baked goods to protestors at equality marches, free of charge, and Lena had even witnessed the blonde bring out doggie bags to some of the homeless citizens at the end of the day, giving them whatever she hadn’t sold that day. Once, Lena could even swear she saw Kara take a whole batch of cupcakes straight out of the oven and start filling one of the doggie bags. 

She was...something else. But she wasn’t a perv, that Lena knew. She had looked _mortified_ when she awoke. She probably thought that Lena was disgusted by her. But she wasn’t.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Lena sighed again and slipped off the bed, shivering slightly as the hardwood chilled her feet, and padded toward Kara, who was still leaning over the kitchen island. 

“Kara,” she said, stopping a couple feet away. “Kara, it’s okay. It’s not that big a deal.”

Kara didn’t say anything.

“You were asleep,” Lena said. “I can’t really blame you for what you do in your sleep, you know?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Hell, you were probably dreaming of somebody else. I’ve had dreams like that.” She bit her lips and sighed. “I have no idea why I just told you that. What I mean is that...um, I honestly have no idea what I mean. Could you just say something so I can shut up, please?”

Finally, Kara’s body straightened and she took a deep breath, before turning around to face Lena. Her cheeks were still pink and her eyes were a little wet, as if she were holding back tears. She indeed looked mortified. She folded her arms over her chest and looked down.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done that, asleep or not. It was wrong.”

“Oh, please,” Lena said, a soft laugh in her voice, “Like I said, it’s not a huge deal. I am very soft and pillow-shaped, I guess.” Kara snorted at that and Lena felt warmth in her chest. “Besides, you were probably dreaming of somebody very nice. Right?” Kara nodded. “So it’s not really like you were grabbing _my_ boob, right? Maybe somebody else’s.” 

At that, Kara looked up. “What? No,” she said, shaking her head. “No I wasn’t.”

“Oh, then what exactly were you doing to them?” Lena asked, raising one eyebrow. “There aren’t many boob-shaped things on a body. Unless...oh, were you dreaming about a guy?”

“No!” Kara huffed, her cheeks turning bright red. “No, I wasn’t dreaming about a guy. God, Lena…”

Lena laughed and put her hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry,” she said. “But you just said that you were dreaming about somebody. And if you weren’t grabbing their boob in the dream, then what could you have been doing?”

Kara bit her bottom lip and looked away, still flushed. “I didn’t say that I wasn’t dreaming about a woman,” she said. 

“Yes, you did,” Lena countered. “You said you weren’t grabbing a boob, so I can only assume that means--”

“I didn’t say that either,” Kara countered. “ _You_ said that.”

“Okay, now I’m confused,” said Lena. “And it takes _a lot_ to confuse me.”

“Yes, because you’re _so_ smart,” Kara said, in a teasing tone.

“Well, I _am_ ,” Lena replied in that same tone.

“Then how come you haven’t figured out that the person I was dreaming about is _you_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anybody wants to make fan art for this chapter, i would love to see it. cassiebones on tumblr
> 
> if you want to, that is....pls want to


	9. Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, Lena would deny being the first one to break the stillness between them, claiming that it must have been Kara because she was far too shocked to have even moved a single centimeter at that very moment, but in the back of her mind she knew that it was her that reached out first to cup Kara’s cheeks and pull their lips together in a teeth-clashing, lip-biting, furious kiss.

As soon as the words reached Lena’s words, they were replaced with a dull roar. Kara’s cheeks turned pink as soon as the statement left her lips, but she didn’t avert her gaze in the slightest. She just continued to stare straight into Lena’s eyes, her fists clenched at her sides. The tension between them now was thicker than it had ever been. You couldn’t even cut it with a knife.

Years later, Lena would deny being the first one to break the stillness between them, claiming that it must have been Kara because she was  _ far too shocked  _ to have even moved a single centimeter at that very moment, but in the back of her mind she knew that it was her that reached out first to cup Kara’s cheeks and pull their lips together in a teeth-clashing, lip-biting, furious kiss. Kara’s entire body stiffened just long enough for Lena to notice, prompting her to start moving back, their lips separated for a full two seconds before Kara finally moved, her hands digging into the dark tresses of Lena’s hair, pulling her right back.

Lena did not even consider resisting.

Instead, she allowed Kara to turn them so that the edge of the counter was digging into her back. She didn’t mind so much as Kara pressed against her front, one of her hands abandoning her dark locks to hook under one of Lena’s thighs, lifting it with such little effort that Lena felt as though she weighed less than a cloud. She placed Lena on the counter and Lena’s hands ran from the softness of Kara’s cheeks to her firm biceps. How come Lena had never realized how  _ jacked  _ Kata Danvers’s arms were? How had she missed out on the way her muscles flexed and strained against the sleeves of her shirts?

She wondered if there were more surprises hidden beneath the tee that Kara was wearing. She was eager to discover them as Kara’s own curious fingers began to tug at her sweater. At the touch of her bare fingers to her abdomen, Lena gasped and pulled away. Kara immediately backed up and if it weren't for Lena’s fingers clutching her shoulders, Lena was certain that she would have been on the other side of the room in a second, just based on the suddenly insecure look on her face, as if she had done something wrong.

“Do you want me to stop?” Kara asked, her breathing heavy and her voice just above a whisper. Her lips were a tad swollen with Lena’s kisses and there was a tiny bite mark on her top lip that made Lena’s face heat up in embarrassment. She shook her head and swallowed thickly.

“Why would I want that?” she asked.

“Oh,” Kara said, her face now entirely beet red. “You just...I thought you were pulling away.” She averted her gaze. “I thought you didn’t...if I’m moving too fast, you can tell me.”

Lena placed one hand under Kara’s chin and pulled it up so that they were looking each other straight in the eyes. “Kara,” she said, “look at me.” Kara finally did, still nervous. “If I wanted this to stop, you would be in a lot of pain on the floor, okay?” The blonde nodded. “Good.” Lena took a deep breath. “The reason I pulled away is because I’m currently sitting in a pile of flour we never cleared up and they are  _ ruining  _ my favorite sweatpants.”

Like a switch was flipped, Kara’s eyes went dark with lust and she licked her lips, which made Lena shiver on instinct. 

“Seems like we should take them off, then,” Kara said, her voice an octave deeper. Lena felt a thrill run through her as she gave the other woman a saucy smile. “Seems like it,” she agreed. She let out a gasp then as Kara’s hands gripped her thighs with a god-like strength and lifted her like a feather, allowing Lena to wrap her long legs around her waist. With little effort, Kara turned and walked easily to her bed.

“Do I weigh anything to you?” Lena asked, looking down into her lover’s eyes.

“Nope,” said Kara, grinning, “it’s like holding a couple of grapes.”

Lena rolled her eyes as Kara laughed and continued to the bed, pressing a kiss to her lips as she lay Lena down on the soft mattress. The bed was still unmade, the bedsheets tangled from Kara’s fall just a half hour earlier, but neither woman cared as they embraced upon the rumpled bedding, their hands wandering everywhere they could reach.

Lena took hold of Kara’s collar and pulled her up the bed so that her head was on one pillow, her hair fanning out, with the blonde above her. Kara moaned into her mouth as she lowered her body to lay upon Lena’s, keeping herself held up by her knees between the brunette’s legs. Lena’s body thrilled at the soft weight of Kara’s body on top of her. Her hands reached, once again, under Kara’s t-shirt, seeking the muscles at her abdomen as if to learn if her abs were really as defined as her arms.

They were. Lena let out a low moan as she touched them, running her fingers against the soft edges of Kara’s muscles until the blonde suddenly fell over, landing to the side of Lena with a shriek. Lena blinked in a haze of lust and turned her head to the side.

“Are you okay?” she asked, turning on her side as Kara lay there, one hand over her mouth as her face turned beet red.

“Yeah,” Kara croaked, then cleared her throat. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m just...ahem...I’m a little ticklish there.” She looked away, embarrassed and Lena let out a little chuckle of her own as she pushed herself up and swung her leg over Kara’s hips, straddling the startled blonde. 

“You’re adorable,” Lena husked as she leaned down to take Kara’s lips in another heated kiss, cupping Kara’s cheeks and feeling her jaw move as she grinned happily against her mouth. 

“Takes one to know one,” Kara panted as they broke for air. Lena let out a trill of laughter, tilting her head back in her mirth, before she looked down at Kara, who seemed to be enjoying the view,  _ immensely _ (and Lena was still wearing the too-large, flour-covered sweater, which covered all the important bits at this moment). She was without her usual thick-rimmed glasses on the perch of her nose, her lips were red and swollen, and there was not an ounce of makeup on her face…

But she was still the most beautiful woman that Lena had ever been with, somehow. Even with bright red cheeks and a goofy smile on her lips. Even with slightly flaring nostrils and her hair all mussed from Lena running her hands through it, again and again. She was  _ so  _ beautiful and Lena didn’t know how she had missed it for all these years they’d been “enemies”.

On impulse, Lena leaned down and pressed another hot, quick kiss to Kara’s lips, leaving the blonde wanting for more, before she reached for the hem of her sweatshirt, tugged it over her head, finally, and tossed it off to the side. It landed with a soft thump on the floor, but neither woman even seemed to notice.

Lena’s eyes were on Kara’s face and Kara’s gaze was glue decidedly  _ below  _ Lena’s eyes, hungrily taking in every inch of bared skin.

“You’re not wearing a bra,” Kara said. 

“I’m not,” Lena confirmed. 

“Have you...have you been naked under there this entire time?” Kara still was not looking at her face.

“That’s kind of how clothes work, babe.”

At the pet name, Kara’s eyes finally snapped to meet Lena’s. For her part, as embarrassed as she was, Lena did not dare look away. She would win this staring contest. She even lifted one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as if in challenge. 

To her everlasting credit, she definitely would have  _ won _ that staring contest had Kara’s composure not broken first, causing both women to tumble to the other side of the bed, Kara landing atop Lena, her lips attacking Lena’s collarbone like a ravenous animal, leaving nips and suck and full on  _ bites  _ all up and down Lena’s neck and chest, pointedly  _ ignoring _ the spot she had just spent a good couple of moments gawking at. 

Lena writhed beneath her, all the same, her fingers once again reaching for the hem of Kara’s t-shirt, attempting to edge it upward, even as Kara wreaked absolute havoc on her body. Her focus kept getting drawn away by the drag of Kara’s teeth over her pulse, her fingers fumbling and falling away from the hem to dig themselves into blonde tresses. She imagined how long she’d have to wear a scarf when Kara was finished with her...then decided that she didn’t give a shit if anybody saw the hickies on her neck, so long as Kara continued to do what she was doing with her mouth.

Finally, Kara removed her sucking lips from Lena’s neck (causing Lena to let out a small mewl that she would deny until the day she died) and reached for her own hem, pulling her t-shirt over her head, revealing, to the everlasting mirth of Lena, a bra covered in cupcakes and cookies. She let out a tiny giggle and pressed a hand to her face. 

“What?” Kara asked. “It was on sale. And I figured it was on brand for a baker, you know?”

“How am I even  _ more  _ attracted to you right now, knowing that you wear underwear like that?” Lena asked aloud. 

“Because you like what’s underneath them?” Kara asked, motioning to her chest.

“True,” Lena hummed, sitting up so that she and Kara were nose to nose. “Now take it off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more to come
> 
> pun intended


	10. Tentative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena Luthor was softer than Kara had been expecting. Not just her breasts, either (though they were plenty pillowy and incredibly comfortable to rest her head on after round one), but the soft mound of her belly, as well. 

Lena Luthor was softer than Kara had been expecting. Not just her breasts, either (though they were plenty pillowy and incredibly comfortable to rest her head on after round one), but the soft mound of her belly, as well. 

Kara lay slightly diagonally across the bed, with Lena on her back, long lithe fingers running through Kara’s blond tresses as they basked in the afterglow of a morning rolling around in between Kara’s sheets and - once, when they had gotten up to grab sustenance - a brief tryst on the kitchen counter. Now there was flour in Kara’s hair and sticky chocolate on Lena’s thighs that would probably only come off in the shower, but neither woman was in a rush to get up. They were both comfortably sated from all kinds of hunger and their bodies were cooling from the flush that their joined skin had taken on just moments ago.

“You awake?” Lena asked, after a few long moments in which she just stroked Kara’s hair, which was so soft and only slightly tangled from their activities.

Kara moaned in response and turned her head slightly to smear a kiss to Lena’s navel. The brunette smiled and curled her body slightly so that she could kiss the crown of Kara’s head. Kara felt her mouth and grinned to herself, raining kisses up Lena’s body until she reached her mouth, stretching herself out so that she was pressed against the other woman’s side, their lips joined in a slow, steamy kiss, before they separated, their foreheads pressed together.

“As much as I would love to continue this,” Lena murmured, “and trust me, I very much would,” she stroked Kara’s hip, making the blonde shiver beneath her touch, “I do believe I have to get back to my bakery soon. If I leave Adrian for too long, he may burn the place down.” Kara snorted, pressing her smile against the gentle curve of Lena’s neck. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” Kara peered up at her at that, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Lena immediately began to backtrack. “I mean, if...if that’s not moving too fast. If it is or if you just meant this to be a one-off - or, rather, a five off - then that’s alright too. I completely get it. I just meant -”

Before she could finish, Kara’s lips were on hers, kissing the air from her lungs and making her lightheaded as she climbed over Lena and straddled her hips, grasping her wrists so that she could hold her arms above her head, pinning them to the pillows as she ravaged Lena’s mouth. When she finally pulled back, they were both panting and Lena, in particular, was utterly speechless, much to Kara’s delight.

“I would...love...to have dinner...with you,” Kara gasped out, having made herself short of breath just as much as the woman beneath her. She took a deep breath. “Just name the time and place,” she said, “I’ll be there.” Lena grinned and surged up, joining their lips in one more passionate, breath-stealing kiss, before using her weight to turn them back over. 

“I’ll text you,” she breathed into Kara’s mouth before slipping away and gathering up her clothes from the floor. Kara was quick to sit up and watch, her eyes drinking up every line and curve of Lena’s body as it disappeared behind last night’s outfit. Her heart swelled with affection as her body flushed with lust and her belly fluttered with butterflies.

_ Rao _ , she was a mess.

When Lena was completely dressed, Kara followed her to the door and the two women shared another longing kiss before Lena finally slipped down the hall and disappeared down the stairs, leaving Kara with the memory of her touch. 

* * *

“What’s  _ up _ with you today?” Nia asked, not for the first time since Kara had arrived just ninety minutes prior.

“Why do you keep asking me that?” Kara asked, frowning at her with eyebrows knitted together. 

Instead of answering, Nia marched up to her and pressed down on Kara’s shoulder until she was planted back on the ground, one eyebrow raised. “That’s why,” she said, as Kara flushed bright red and cleared her throat.

“I just had a really good night’s sleep,” she said, brushing Nia’s hand off. “Who knew an extra couple of hours could do so much for energy?”

“Um,  _ everybody _ ,” Nia said. “I’ve been telling you for two years to get more sleep and it was always ‘oh but there’s so much work to be done’ and ‘aliens don’t need that much sleep under a yellow sun’.” 

Kara’s mouth gaped and her nose wrinkled. “I do  _ not  _ sound like that!”

“Yeah, you really do,” Winn Schott said, as he poked his head into the kitchen. Kara glowered at him and he laughed, holding up his hands in surrender, one of them holding a clipboard. “But that’s none of my business,” he said. “Anyway, I’ve got a delivery. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar?”

“And butter?” Kara asked. 

“There is nothing here about butter,” Winn said, flipping the sheet on the clipboard. 

“Seriously, Winn?” Kara huffed. “We  _ always  _ order butter with everything else.”

“Actually,” Nia said, “you didn’t order it last week because we had a surplus. Remember?”

“Uh, no?”

“You complained about how much butter we had for  _ weeks _ , because people wanted whipped topping instead of buttercream!” Nia reminded her. “It was a huge topic of conversation on Twitter, too. You went on a full Twitter rant.” As if for evidence, Nia pulled up the thread of about a dozen tweets and showed it to Kara, who balked.

“Wow, I was  _ super  _ passionate about butter last month, wasn’t I?”

“Kara, these are from a week ago.”

“Whatever,” Kara sighed, I guess we have enough for the rest of the week, but I want the butter added to our next order, okay? Buttercream is making a comeback.”

“Duly noted,” Winn said, writing her instructions on his clipboard, before handing it over. “I just need your signature and we’re good to go.” Kara took the pen he offered and scrawled her name in messy script, before handing the clipboard back. “Who’s working with you today?” she asked.

“James,” Winn informed her. Kara’s face turned beet red. “Oh no, tell me you don’t still have a crush on my boyfriend.”

“No!” Kara huffed. “I just...I...shut  _ up _ ! I do not have a crush on James. In fact, for your information, I’m dating somebody.”

Shit, she didn’t mean to say that. She didn’t even know if that was true. Even if it was, she and Lena hadn’t spoken about being out with their relationship. What the hell was she doing?

“You  _ are _ ?” Winn and Nia asked at the same time. 

Nia nudged her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She looked hurt.

“It’s new,” Kara said. “We...we’re not exactly  _ out _ about it, yet.”

“Oh,” Winn said, “are they...are they still closeted?” He whispered the question, as if they weren’t surrounded by exclusively queer individuals.

“No, they’re not still closeted, Winn,” Kara sighed. “They just...they’re very private. Okay? No more questions.”

“Nobody asked about your dating life, Kara,” Nia reminded her. “You volunteered the information.”

“Yeah, because Winn was teasing me about having a crush on James!”

“Who has a crush on James?” the man in question asked, as he strolled through the door, wheeling a few crates filled with the month’s supply of flour and sugar.

“I do!” Winn exclaimed, standing on tiptoes to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. 

James smiled against his mouth. “Aww, thanks, babe,” he said. “But we should try to keep it professional at work, don’t you think.” He winked at Kara and Nia, the former of whom blushed while the latter snorted. 

“Yes, sir,” Winn said, saluting him.

James rolled his eyes. “You’re  _ my  _ boss,” he laughed. “Here, at least.”

“Gross,” Kara said, “go ahead and put those in the usual spot, James. I have to...go...over there.” She motioned to her desk, which was covered in papers. “There’s a lot of organization to be done.”

“What about the Bi Pride cookies?” Nia asked. “We still need to ice them.”

“I’m sure you and Vasquez can handle it,” Kara called over her shoulder as she rushed to her desk, where her phone had just vibrated with a new text.

Her entire body lit up when she saw Lena’s name on the screen and she swiped open the text with an easy smile.

_ Lena L: I am very sore today and I blame you _

Kara bit her lip as she tapped out a response.

_ Kara D: It takes two… _

_ Lena L: You didn’t even have any hickies this morning! Your skin must be made of steel. _

_ Kara D: Something like that...so what time is dinner? _

_ Lena L: Is nine too late? I have a wedding cake to finish _

_ Lena L: Which reminds me. We never decorated the cake for Alex and Sam. _

_ Kara D: We have time. _

_ Kara D: Nine isn’t too late. Anyway, I could always just...sleep over. _

She waited with bated breath as she watched the three dots appear on screen.

Finally…

_ Lena L: Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you at my place? _

_ Kara D: Can’t wait <3 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a minute, but I'm back at work (actually wrote this while I was in the office, oops?) so I have less time for writing. I do want to finish this though and I am working hard to make sure that happens. More will be out soon.


	11. Dinner Date (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I never realized what a little monster I made,” Lena teased, poking his nose and leaving a swipe of purple icing there as she finally set down her piping bag. He pouted at her, then tried to lick the icing off his nose. “You’re never going to get it, Ade.”

Adrian took his time packing up that night, despite Lena persistently telling him that he was free to leave early as she put the finishing touches on a wedding cake with a rainbow waterfall (like the kind one finds in nature, you know?), but he was adamant about staying until the job was done. After all, it was  _ he  _ who had made all the little rock candies by himself and he wanted to make sure they were placed perfectly. He even offered to take a picture for their social media accounts so that their ‘fans’ would know who the best gay bakers in town were. 

“I never realized what a little monster I made,” Lena teased, poking his nose and leaving a swipe of purple icing there as she finally set down her piping bag. He pouted at her, then tried to lick the icing off his nose. “You’re never going to get it, Ade.”

“Wanna bet?” He tried (and failed) harder, before giving up. Lena handed him a towel and he wiped off the icing as she put the finishing touches on the “foam” at the bottom of the waterfall, which fell atop the bottom-most tier of a six-tier cake. Adrian went right to work placing his precious candy rocks, going from goofy adolescent boy to seasoned cake decorator in a matter of seconds. 

Lena glanced at the clock.

_ 8:59 _

“You almost done there, Da Vinci?” she said, praying that Kara wouldn’t just - 

“Lena?” The front door bell announced her entrance and Lena inwardly cursed, sneaking a peek at Adrian’s face. If he noticed  _ anything _ but the tiny rocks he was placing, his face did not show it. He kept going, his dexterous fingers working quickly and efficiently as Lena inched toward the kitchen door. “Lena?” Kara’s voice sounded like thunder, but still Adrian remained oblivious.

Lena slipped out of the kitchen and practically attacked Kara, placing a hand over her mouth as the blonde stared, wide-eyed and in complete shock, at her. “Adrian,” Lena mouthed, nodding toward the kitchen. Kara’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. She made a muffled noise that sounded like a curse and Lena couldn’t help but grin as she slowly removed her hand from Kara’s lips and quickly replaced it with a kiss, before stepping back. 

Clearing her throat, she set her brow into an annoyed line. “What do  _ you _ want?” she asked, loudly enough for Adrian to hear - if he’d finally finished his rock decorating. Kara frowned at her in confusion for a second, but at Lena’s pointed look, it finally clicked in her head. Kara cleared her throat.

“Alex, my  _ sister _ ,” she said, speaking way too loudly, “wants us to add a few things to the cake. Tonight!” Something clattered in the other room and Kara looked toward the kitchen with some concern. “Are you alright in there, Adrian?” she called out.

The teen boy popped his head out and gave her a thumbs up. “I’m cool, Miss Danvers,” he said.

“Kara,” she corrected, wrinkling her nose. “You make me sound like I’m somebody’s mom, ugh.”

“I’m 19; everybody older than me is somebody’s mom,” he shot back, wiping his hands on a towel draped over his shoulder. “So, what brings our competitor into our evil lair so late in the night?”

Kara smirked. “Evil lair? Don’t you think that’s a bit dramatic?”

“Do you disagree?” Adrian asked, raising one brow.

Kara pretended to look around, her eyes lingering on Lena for a second longer than necessary as she fought to school her features into a disapproving expression. “Actually,” she said, “you might have a point there. This place  _ does  _ look pretty evil. Especially given the current company.” She motioned to Lena, who forced a look of annoyance mixed with anger. 

“Bite me,” Lena said. Kara bit her lip to keep the most inappropriate words from spilling out. She would save that thought for later, when they were in private and she was very much in a position to bite  _ something _ . 

“I prefer sweet tastes,” she retorted. “Not a huge fan of bitter.”

“Oooooooooh,” Adrian said, staring, wide-eyed, at Lena, waiting for her next move. 

“At least I don’t look like a Creampuff come to life,” she said. “How  _ is  _ it that your entire wardrobe is made of pastels. Don’t you ever get bored of bright colors?”

“Don’t you ever get bored of black and white?”

“I wear red, too.”

“The color of blood,” Kara deadpanned. “Fitting - for a vampire.” 

“Okay,” Adrian said, stepping between them, certain that Lena was actually going to bare her teeth in defense. “As fun as that was, I think I should really get going, Lena.” He shot a warning glance at his boss. “Can I trust that you too won’t get blood on that pretty wedding cake if I leave you alone?”

“Your concern for me is touching, Adrian,” Lena said, giving him a soft smirk. She’d always had a soft spot for the teen, ever since he was a gangly twelve-year old on puberty blockers with clothes twice his size, coming by the bakery several times a week to get baking advice.

Adrian leaned in. “I know you can take the blonde,” he whispered in her ear. “But if you kill her, we’re going to need bail money. And lawyer money.”

“I can hear you,” Kara said. “And, if it means anything to you, I promise not to fight your boss while you’re away.”  _ Can’t promise I won’t do something else that starts with an ‘F’ though. _ She pinched herself for that thought. “Okay? We really just have to talk about Alex and Sam’s cake, which we never actually finished last night.” She tried to make it seem as though she was blaming Lena for that fact, but her words came out a pinch huskier than she intended as an image of the two of them tangled up together on her bed flashed none-too-briefly in her mind. She cleared her throat. “You trust me?”

Adrian sized her up for a long moment, circling her like a lion (cub) surveying a potential foe, before shrugging and letting out a quick, “yup!” before padding back to the kitchen. “See you tomorrow,  _ Jefa!” _

Before Lena could say anything in return, she heard the tiny alarm sound on the back door as he made a quick exit. She sighed and turned back to Kara. “For all that kid knows, you’re planning to murder me and bake me into a cheesecake.”

“Pffft!” Kara snorted. “I could never bake you into a cheesecake.” She took a few steps toward Lena, tilting her head. “Now, an  _ angelfood _ cake, I could see.”

“You are so cheesy,” Lena huffed, rolling her eyes as Kara laughed and came around the corner, wrapping her strong arms around Lena’s waist.

“You like it,” Kara insisted, pressing her lips to the side of Lena’s throat. “You  _ love _ it.”

Lena didn’t say anything, but she also didn’t resist as Kara pressed their lips together, her hands running up Lena’s back until her clever fingers could fiddle with the bra beneath Lena’s shirt. Lena pulled back. 

“Wait,” she said. “Wait.” 

Kara’s hands immediately rose in the air like she’d just been caught, red-handed, robbing a bank. “What?” she asked. “What’s wrong? Too much?”

“Never,” Lena said, alleviating her fears with a smear of a kiss to Kara’s lips. “No, it’s just that...well, I actually did mean it when I said I want to have dinner with you.”

“You did?” Kara asked. “That wasn’t just code for...you know?” She made an obscene hand gesture that Lena couldn’t even fathom meant anything to do with sex.

“Okay one,” Lena said, with a snort, “you have seen me completely naked and have done things to me that would made the devil blush, so I have no idea why you’re so embarrassed to say the word ‘sex’ out loud in front of me.” Kara flushed. “And two, what on  _ earth  _ is that, Kara. What are your hands doing?”

“You really want to mock the woman you’re trying to lure into your bed right now, Lena?” Kara retorted, her face still beet red. 

“Lure!” Lena scoffed. “As if you weren’t practically just  _ begging _ to be in my bed with those lips of yours seconds ago!” She swallowed Kara’s cry of protest before letting go and making her way toward the front door to lock it for the night. She turned the sign on the door to ‘Closed’ and turned back to Kara with a saucy smile. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said. “We’re having fish tonight.”

“Is...is that a euphemism or…?”

“It’s literal,” Lena said, turning off the lights on the displays as she rejoined Kara behind the counter. “I made tilapia.”

“Oh,” Kara said, looking disappointed. 

“Play your cards right,” Lena added, taking her hand and literally dragging her into the kitchen, “and there may even be a little something  _ extra _ planned for dessert.” 

Kara’s laughter stalled halfway through as a figure appeared in her line of sight and she came face-to-face with a certain teen boy’s pinkened face as he stood, rooted to the spot, in the center of the kitchen, holding a small container of what looked to be glittery rocks.

_ Shit _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long to post an update. Many things have happened, especially work and depression (yay!) so I've been taking it easy. Hopefully, this will be wrapped up soon though!

**Author's Note:**

> this is mostly all written, but i will be posting it piece by piece anyway. let me know how you like it?


End file.
